A PIONEERING gay bar – and the last gay venue left in the borough – is fighting for its survival after being slapped with a £14,000 licensing bill.
Central Station in Wharfdale Road will appeal against the ruling that it needs a sex establishment licence at a Town Hall hearing on Monday.
Owner Duncan Irvine says it has been caught up in the government’s crackdown on pole dancing and lap dancing clubs and that while there is “sexual contact” at some of its club nights, this is not the same as striptease entertainment, which it no longer provides.
The club was founded 20 years ago to provide a safe meeting place for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community (LGBT) at a time when King’s Cross was a centre for drugs and prostitution, and gay men used to cruise on the Regent’s Canal towpath.
Founder Mr Irvine says that although it was initially attacked – once by a gang using CS canisters – it soon became renowned for its cabaret nights, as well as a local pub.