No more cuddles at Bubbles: Delight as massage parlour loses bid to reopen
A massage parlour which operated on the site of a notorious brothel has lost its bid to reopen - much to the delight of residents and councillors.
Bubbles Club, off Hagley Road, Bearwood, was ordered to close in January for breaching planning rules but bosses tabled fresh plans in order to open legally.
The premises is notorious as the site of a brothel called Cuddles, in Hagley Road, which was raided by police in 2005.
Sandwell Council planning officers have now used delegated powers to turn down the bid to to delight of campaigners who raised concerns over the scheme.
It comes after West Midlands Police tabled objections to the premises to the planning department being opened as a massage parlour.
In the planning officer's report, they said police believed it was being operated as 'more than a massage parlour'.
Residents and councillors raised concerns about Bubbles last November when it came back into use after being empty for some time.
In total 32 objections were tabled to the planning department over the proposals.
Abbey ward councillor Bob Piper said he was pleased with the planning officers' decision, adding: "The history of the building has been very bad. Officers have made the quite right decision."
On the club's Facebook page, Bubbles calls itself a 'private massage club'.
A report from Sandwell Council's planning officers said they had taken the decision to recommend its refusal after considering responses from residents and evidence from the police.
They said the likelihood was granting permission would result in the site becoming a brothel.
