A lap dancing club’s license to trade has been challenged by developers of town centre flats who say its ‘no longer appropriate’ for the ‘new neighbourhood’ they are creating.

The Honeypot Bar on Queen Street in Maidenhead has applied to have its annual licence renewed by the council. But it is facing opposition from owners and developers of the One Maidenhead housing development that is being built just opposite.

Get Living, which owns the development, wrote to the council to object. It said it hoped to attract some 1,200 new residents to the area ‘including young families.’

It said: “The development has been a key part of the regeneration of the town centre and will act as a catalyst for positive change in the area.

“We are therefore writing to object to the renewal of the license application as we do not believe it is appropriate to have a premises offering adult entertainment which does not fit in with the character of the local area or meet the aspiration of the new town centre.”

Tim Barlow from developer Hub Residential echoed that objection. He also said the strip club would put off businesses from coming to new offices being built as part of the next phase of One Maidenhead scheme.

He said: “The Honeypot is likely to put off these new businesses that bring valuable economic input to the town and again for this reason we believe it is no longer appropriate to renew the application.”

A local resident, John Baldwin, also objected. He said: “The character of the area in the immediate vicinity of the establishment has altered out of all recognition.

“The residential population will be exploding, calling into serious question the appropriateness of this as a location for a sexual entertainment venue.”

Councillors on The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead’s licensing and public space protection order sub-committee are set to consider the Honeypot’s application on Friday, May 16.

Licensing law says a licence can be refused if the council considers that it would mean there are too many ‘sex establishments’ than are appropriate in the area, or is wrong for the character of the area.’

Councillors on the committee have agreed to renew The Honeypot’s license in previous years, including after similar objections in 2021 and 2022.

Honeypot owner John Sennett argued in 2022 that the area is changing ‘incredibly slowly,’ and that its transformation would take many years.