Owners of closed Edinburgh adult venue apply for 'private members' club' permission
Change of use application comes after enforcement notice was issued by the council
The owners of an Edinburgh industrial unit previously embroiled in a row over an unauthorised swingers’ club have submitted a change of use application that includes a “private members’ club”.
Concerns were raised in April, 2024 over an ‘illegal’ Edinburgh swingers’ club being run out of an industrial estate in the west of the city, after police attended an incident where a couple claim they were assaulted.
After Dark in Sighthill opened in 2022 as an adult lifestyle club without obtaining planning permission, which was later refused after an application to use the unit as a private adult club was submitted.
The City of Edinburgh Council issued an enforcement notice ordering the club to close, which was subsequently upheld by a Scottish Government reporter.
The venue is run by Cornucopia Limited, which has now applied for a change of use at the 694sqm unit 4, 27 Bankhead Terrace.
The principal use of the premises will be as a commercial creative production and arts-based facility operated primarily by Bankhead Studios.
The premises provide a large photographic studio, main photo studio, video production areas, post-production space, video editing suite, make-up and changing rooms, themed photographic rooms, a teaching/seminar area, flexible arts studio, and reception and storage areas.
The application also includes an ancillary private members' club operating three evenings a week, comprising of controlled, membership-based gatherings within the same studio spaces.
In planning documents submitted to the council, the applicant stated: “The council will be aware that the premises have been used for private members' evening activity for nearly four years, during which there have been no known disturbances, incidents of anti-social behaviour, public nuisance, unmanaged dispersal issues or material amenity impacts.
“The private members' social use will continue to be membership-controlled, pre-booked, not open to the general public, fully contained within the premises, subject to a management plan, limited in hours and frequency, and operated without external amplified music or outdoor congregation.
“It is anticipated that the private members' club will use the building for approximately 18 hours per week, spread across three evenings, supporting the short-term economic stability of the wider studio business during its establishment period without altering its principal planning character.
”The Class 4 business use is unambiguously the principal use of the premises by both floor area and operating hours, while the arts-based studio and private members' evening elements are ancillary, technically integrated with the core photography business, and capable of being controlled through planning conditions and a management plan.
“The proposal is therefore considered acceptable in planning terms, and planning permission should be granted.”
The change of use plans show no external or internal alterations, although the already divided areas in the industrial unit have been listed in the planning documents under new purposes, including a large studio for large product and possible vehicle photography, with this the largest single space, also set to be used for seminars. There would also be a prop store, secure lockers, and two separate rooms labelled ‘bedroom set’ and a ‘hotel room set’.