A NIGHTCLUB in Aylesbury which is already ‘finding it extremely difficult to make ends meet’ will now have to pay up to £2,000 more per year for its licence because it includes lap dancing shows.

Mirage in Buckingham Street now falls under a new licence category for ‘sex establishments’, the policy for which was agreed by Aylesbury Vale District Council on Monday.

It includes an annual fee of £2,200 to renew the licence if the application is contested by interested parties, such as parish councils or the nearby community, or £600 if the application is uncontested.

Mirage owner, Jack Michael, currently only pays £180 per year towards a premises licence.

He argued that the fee should be reduced as the lap dancing only takes place on three nights of the week and 80 per cent of revenue is from alcohol sales, with only 20 per cent from the actual lap dancing.

In a letter to the council he said: “Given the current economic climate, which it would appear will continue a few more years, we are finding it extremely difficult to make ends meet.

“If the council decides to fix the licence fee for lap dancing clubs generally the same as it does for sex shops and sex cinemas then we would simply not be able to afford the licence fee.”

Following the council’s licensing committee’s approval of the plans, he told The Bucks Herald: “It will hit us, the last thing we want is these additional costs. I cannot see how they can justify these fees.”

Licensing boss Peter Seal said he ‘sympathised’ with Mirage – which is the only adult establishment in the Vale to be affected by the new policy.

In his report Mr Seal described Mirage as an ‘established and largely unproblematic club’.

But he told the committee that the fee covered the administrative cost of processing the licence, including the cost of hearings, which is the same regardless of how often the venue opens.

“As much as I sympathise with Mr Michael we can’t lessen the fees because he operates three days a week,” he said.