'It's not what you think it is' - Swingers club near Boston moves to reassure public after being granted sexual entertainment venue licence (VIDEO AND GALLERY)

The application from Chunkymuffins, in Frampton, went before Boston Borough Council’s regulatory and appeals committee last Tuesday (February 3).

Members were told the business had applied for the licence to provide pole dancing, lap dancing, striptease and live sex shows as a form of entertainment, where ‘participation was undertaken by customers attending the premises’.

A number of objections were lodged against the application. The report that went before members gave the following examples of concerns: alleged noise nuisance from vehicles travelling through the village late at night; the suitability of such a premises within the village; a possible perceived impact on property value; a perceived reputational damage to the village by association.

Members were told that ‘purely moral objections or concerns cannot be taken into account and must not form part of the decision-making process’, potentially negating some of those objections.

Grant Shackleston, solicitor for the applicant, said the venue has been hosting ‘private parties’ for adults for more than a decade and operating with a premises licence since 2023.

He said: “Until this application was made, there have been no formal complaints by the police or the council about any anti-social behaviour, nuisance, issues with the roads, criminality, et cetera, et cetera.”

It took a three-hour meeting to settle the matter, but members approved the licence with the following conditions:

• There shall be no employment of commercial performers at the premises
• Whenever the premises is open for customers the gates must be closed except for access and egress
• The swimming pool and outside area shall be closed for use at 11pm
• There shall be in place a safeguarding policy that must be supplied to the licensing department

Chunkymuffins is run by husband-and-wife team Neil and Michelle Wright. Its name comes from pet names they have for each other – ‘Chunk’ (Neil) and ‘Muffin’ (Michelle).

Neil, 61, hails from Sutton-on-Ashfield, while Michelle, 57, comes from Sibsey. They have lived together in the Boston area since marrying 40 years ago this year. Both are retired and view Chunkymuffins as a ‘hobby’, as a form of socialising.

“We like meeting people,” said Michelle, saying they have made some ‘life-long friends’ through the venue.

They explained the purpose of the sexual entertainment venue licence is not to introduce pole dancing, lap dancing, striptease and live sex shows at the venue in a commercial sense; rather, it relates to activities that could take place between consenting customers and be interpreted as pole dancing, lap dancing, et cetera.

“We have to cover ourselves,” Michelle said.

It is a ‘grey area’, they said, with the sexual entertainment venue licence being the best-fit for the club, but not a particularly good one.

“There isn’t a licence that covers swinging clubs,” Neil said.

The couple also moved to reassure the public in terms of the venue more generally.

“People really have got the wrong idea of what the club is about,” Neil said. “There are no mad orgies. It's a safe place, where consenting adults can meet.”

“It's consenting adults who are expanding their sex lives,” he added.

Michelle said: “It's a safe place where people can express what they want to express without being judged.” They also stressed that the activities are well-screened from the road, and that its customer base are not the type to drive recklessly.

“Yes, there are a lot of boy racers that come down this road and you can hear them spinning in the car parks at the nature reserve, but the people that come here are aged between 40 and 65,” Neil said. “They value their vehicles and often complain about the state of our roads.”

Asked what message they would give to readers to reassure them about the venue, Michelle said: “Everybody is welcome. Don’t be shy, it’s not what you think it is. Come and meet some absolutely amazing people.”

“Amazing down-to-earth people,” Neil added.