Since then, licensing officers have regularly visited events and police have sent letters making clear they believe they are not complying with the law. The argument began last August following the Pride event when the licensing authorities received complaints about fetish nights, the M.E.N understands. "From the top down there is a plan to drive out the seedier side of things and make the Village a Disneyland pastiche of what it was." "Whether it's conscious or not, they're trying to gentrify the Village.
"I'm sure a lot of it is about big development," he told the M.E.N. The home of the LGBTQ+ community around Canal Street on the south side of the city centre has seen a number of high-end residential developments spring up in recent years.Īnd Adrian Perrett, who has run fetish night Club Alert! at various different venues in the Village for 15 years, says the recent dispute over the legality of his night is damaging Manchester's reputation as a welcoming and tolerant city. Manchester Council recently launched a public consultation 'to fully understand what the area means to local people, visitors and local businesses to inform how it can be protected in the future'. Organisers have been involved in a battle with police and council authorities for the last six months but say they have reached an impasse.Īnd they believe pressure from local authorities is part of a wider campaign to 'sanitise and gentrify' the Village.
The future of fetish nights in the Gay Village is under threat due to a row over the legality of consensual sex in 'darkrooms'.