A NIGHTCLUB has made a bid to open earlier so it can host wedding parties.

The planning application would give the former strip club on Fleet Street the green light to open from midday, rather than 9pm.

But when South Swindon Parish Council’s planning committee discussed the proposal to change the use from a nightclub to a gentleman’s club, it left some councillors baffled.

The applicant L O’Neill said he wanted to change the opening hours at nightclub H2O “to make use of the premises during the day time to provide events such as wedding receptions, parties, bands, etc”. Although the application suggests it would become a gentleman’s club, the Adver understands this is an administrative error - it would actually remain a normal nightclub.

Coun Nick Burns-Howell (Old Town) said: “I was a little bit confused about the definition of a ‘gentleman’s club’.

“In their application they suggested they wanted to open early for wedding receptions. Perhaps if my extremely limited knowledge in this area is correct, we could seek some clarification on that point.”

Gentleman’s clubs often feature pole dancing or lap dancing.

Coun Trish Philpot, chairman of the committee, asked: “Are we happy to have such a club open in the middle of the day where it is?Because a lot of local businesses are objecting.”

The parish joined nearby businesses in objecting to the applications. Four comments had already been received by borough council planning officers.

James Gregory, a partner at property consultants Alder King, called any extension to opening hours wholly inappropriate: “Should this application be approved this will exacerbate the already poor image of the immediate surroundings but will also further hamper any hope of regenerating this part of Swindon, which has long been a key goal of the borough council.”

In the time Alder King has marketed office space at the Focal Point tower opposite the night club, several well-known companies have refused to rent office space because of the environment surrounding it.

Mr Gregory added: “The perception is that the whole area is run down throughout the day and the opening of this club for most of every day is not conducive to attracting professional office users to this part of town and more specifically Focal Point.”

Amcor Property Limited, which manages serviced offices at Focal Point, said: “Attracting and encouraging business to this side of the town is already hard enough and a difficult challenge as it is. We feel that this would definitely not improve our chances of getting any further businesses to join us in the future and may even loose us clients, especially if our current clients at Focal Point loose business too.”

Following the parish council’s discussion, it emerged the planning application had been withdrawn. In the eyes of the planning department the H2O club is still a gentleman’s club and its owners plan to submit a change of use application to formally change the building’s use from gentleman’s club to nightclub, the Advertiser understands. The H2O club is already licensed to open from midday.

The planning agents have been approached for comment.