{"id":830618,"date":"2026-07-29T05:47:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T05:47:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/830618\/"},"modified":"2026-07-29T05:47:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T05:47:11","slug":"partys-over-lgbtqia-members-only-sex-on-premises-venue-rejected-by-city-of-perth-council","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/830618\/","title":{"rendered":"Party\u2019s over: LGBTQIA+ members-only sex-on-premises venue rejected by City of Perth council"},"content":{"rendered":"

A proposal<\/a> for a LGBTQIA+ exclusive sex-on-premises venue in Perth\u2019s CBD has been rejected by the City of Perth council.<\/p>\n

The proposed venue, above Pink Rabbit adult shop on Barrack Street, would have been a members-only club where 18+ patrons could engage in \u201cnon-judgmental\u201d consensual sexual activity.<\/p>\n

The venue would have also operated as a LGBTQI+ members space where people could also socialise and attend educational sessions.<\/p>\n

Perth city council refused the development application at its meeting on Tuesday night despite planning officers having recommended it for approval.<\/p>\n

Lord Mayor Bruce Reynolds foreshadowed an alternative motion to refuse the application before the officers recommendation calling for support was voted down 3-4. Cr Catherine Lezer, Viktor Ko, Chris Patton and Mr Reynolds then voted to reject the application.<\/p>\n

\"TheCamera IconThe proposed floor layout. Credit: Development application<\/p>\n

Mr Reynolds said he was unable to support something \u201clikely to have an adverse impact on the amenity of the adjoining properties and the locality\u201d and \u201cincompatible with its setting\u201d.<\/p>\n

He said he did not believe the proposal adequately demonstrated how it would be managed and operated to ensure the ongoing preservation of the amenity of the surrounding areas.<\/p>\n

Cr Lezer said while there were places for inclusive, safe spaces in the city, but the Barrack Street location was not one of them.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe submissions and ratepayers tell me a venue for adult activity does not belong here,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t about who a venue serves; it\u2019s about basic planning logic.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis proposal is a fundamental land use mismatch. I urge the owner to perhaps consider Northbridge, an entertainment precinct suited for this type of venue.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is simply the wrong use in the wrong place.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t about who a venue serves; it\u2019s about basic planning logic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cr Lezer said Barrack Street in 2026 was vastly different from the COVID recovery vacancy landscape of 2022, when the Pink Rabbit retail store was approved.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are now shops, cafes, restaurants, family apartments, hotels and renovated heritage buildings. And Barrack Street continues to improve. Last week the St Martins redevelopment was approved, Bon Marche arcade is being turned into short-stay accommodation, the town hall continues to be modernised, and student housing is proposed at the end of this block,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Cr Liam Gobbert, who supported the application, declared an impartiality interest as an employee of the applicant was a \u201cpersonal friend\u201d but said he had not discussed the application with them.<\/p>\n

\u201cSafe spaces for any historically or contemporaneously marginalised, disadvantaged, or persecuted parts of the community are a good thing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cA private landowner seeking to provide that type of a safe space in our city without government support should be seen as a good thing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe proposed clientele being the LGBTQIA+ community is a good thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cr Gobbert rejected claims the proposed venue would affect the surrounding amenity.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t overlooking into anyone\u2019s backyard or bedroom or pool space,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no visible light spill, no visual intrusion, no overshadowing into adjacent lots that would affect another landowner\u2019s use.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said there were also no environmental, appearance or traffic impacts.<\/p>\n

Cr Lisa Ma, who voted in support of the application, said \u201csex-on-premises venues aren\u2019t exactly new or exotic\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey operate lawfully across Australian capital cities, always as private, membership-based clubs, and precisely because of that, that structure keeps the activity consensual, controlled, and out of the public view. Again, this proposal follows that exact model: upstairs, no signage, no street presence, members only,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe choice tonight isn\u2019t between a risky venue and no venue. It\u2019s between a well-managed, consent-driven space operating in daylight, or the same need being met somewhere with none of these safeguards at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

During public consultation<\/a>, the application drew 341 submissions, of which 290 were objections and 51 were in support.<\/p>\n

City officers said 195 objections were lodged without any justification, 43 were submitted using similar pro-forma wording, and 279 of the 290 objections were from owners, occupiers or organisations outside of the City of Perth.<\/p>\n

The applicant said the venue was intended to provide \u201csocial connection, education and consensual intimate activities in a non-judgment setting\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe space is designed to foster a sex-positive, inclusive, and affirming environment for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and other identities within the community,\u201d the applicant said.<\/p>\n

In the floor plans, submitted with the application, there were 14 couches, a swinging chair and \u201cposition furniture\u201d and multiple screens.<\/p>\n

If the applicant decides to take the council\u2019s decision to the State Administrative Tribunal for reconsideration, it is estimated to cost tens of thousands of dollars.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A proposal for a LGBTQIA+ exclusive sex-on-premises venue in Perth\u2019s CBD has been rejected by the City of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":830619,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,505,46786,44,46,45],"class_list":["post-830618","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-central","tag-lgbtqia","tag-news","tag-perth","tag-wa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/830618","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=830618"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/830618\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/830619"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=830618"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=830618"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=830618"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}