Edinburgh swingers club 'hosts opening night' despite lack of planning permission

A new Edinburgh swingers club reportedly held a grand opening last night, despite not having planning permission yet.

After Dark, which advertises itself as Scotland’s premier swingers and kink club, has submitted plans for a premises in Bankhead industrial estate.

The former Edinburgh Napier University offices would be converted into multiple “playrooms”, a cinema, kink and BDSM area, and a huge lounge.

But there are reports the business – which has changed its name from After8 Club after a relocation from Spittal Street – has already opened its doors to customers.

The swingers club has reportedly opened on an Edinburgh industrial estate

The club’s website states there is a Halloween party on October 29, at what is described as one of the “largest and best equipped” swingers clubs in the UK. Photographs show the fully decked out “playrooms” including a cage, erotic cinema, pommel horse and even a pool table.

The venue is said to be bring your own booze, and plans said the members-only club will “all be consenting adults” with no sex workers involved.

Memberships are advertised as costing £20 for a couple for a year, £20 for a single male, and £10 for a single female. While opening times are 8pm-1am on Wednesday, 9pm-3am on Friday and Saturday, with special events held on every first and third Thursday of the month.

Graham Ludar-Smith, who is listed as the applicant but claims he only owns the building, said he was under the impression no planning permission was necessary to open.

“That’s what I was told from the consultants, it was just a matter of ‘get that planning application in’ and it’s all done and dusted,” he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service, “There’s no external changes to the building, it’s just simply internal partitians and stud wall which as far as I understand doesn’t need planning permission.”

He said Edinburgh-based company Cornucopia is responsible for the application and running the premises, and claimed After Dark will be one of several clubs set to utilise the new space.

Mr Ludar-Smith said: “It’s more like a sports centre where the badminton club use it on a Tuesday evening and then the five aside uses it on a Wednesday and somebody else uses it on a Saturday and that sort of thing. It’s a general use facility building of which the swingers club is one of the people who are going to be using it.

“They’ve been talking about a yoga group getting in there, a photography group; different days of the week different things.”

A City of Edinburgh Council spokesperson said: “The planning application is still under review and a decision is due in December. We are setting up a planning enforcement investigation to look into the allegation that the business is operating without planning permission”.