BOSSES of a Cheltenham nightclub have ditched plans to host regular lap dancing after it was raided during race week.
Embassy has withdrawn its application for a sexual entertainment licence after it was closed following visits from the authorities on Wednesday and Thursday.
Clubs and bars are allowed to hold 24 hours of such activities each month, but council bosses say they caught the Pittville Street breaking that rule and the club closed voluntarily.
Police and borough licensing officers were involved in the week-long operation, which also saw another nightclub given a formal warning for allowing touching between dancers and customers.
Embassy owner Leslie Grant admitted his premises had closed on the two nights at the request of the council.
A NIGHTCLUB set to open in Cheltenham this month could be transformed into a strip club during one of the town's showpiece festivals.
Bosses at Embassy, in Pittville Street, have applied for a sexual entertainment licence, enabling it to host lap dances during race week.
If it is permitted, it would be the only venue in the town allowed to host the erotic performances – after former strip club The Blue Room closed.
Critics of the move said granting such licences risked encouraging lurid behaviour at a time when the town was under the media spotlight.
But Embassy owner Leslie Grant claimed it would be a one-off annual event, carried out in a "discreet" manner.
He said: "The intention would be to limit lap dances to race week so they would not be held at any other time of year.