A cove on the River Tyne looking towards the piers at north and South Shields at the mouth of the ri (Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
A seaside sex club has opened its doors to the dismay of shocked residents who claim it will bring “perversion” to the area. Babylon, in South Shields, South Tyneside, boasts a dungeon, private rooms and public “group activity” areas where adults can partner swap and have sex. Kinky revellers, who must be aged 21 or over, queued around the block to get inside when it opened for business – and pleasure – on Saturday, October 25.
The sex club plies its trade three nights a week, from 8pm to as late as 4am, with annual membership priced at between £10 and £35. But residents have reacted with shock to news of the town centre business, which is spread out over two floors of a former gym and above a closed-down building society.
Read more: The smiling selfie of girl gansters after beating man to death
Read more: The porn star who filmed extreme sex on the dark web and his 5,000 mile trek …
They worry the sex club, hidden away behind an unimposing green door, will contribute negatively to an already declining area, where businesses are struggling to survive. Married mum Danielle King, 38, believes Babylon is a bad fit for a town whose current attractions include The Word library and an under-construction new college.
She said: “To have a sex club publicly near businesses, in a town centre, is not a good idea. Is it better that it’s in a safe place that is run and organised? Is it better that it’s in a controlled area? Maybe, but it has its complications.
“The town will get a reputation for this, which is not going to help an already difficult situation. If you look around the town centre, it’s struggling. A lot of shops are struggling to stay open. Is a sex club going to help? No.
“I very much doubt the people in the sex club are going, ‘Oh, do you know what, I’ll just take a 30 minute break from the sex club, nip to Copelands and get a sausage roll and a cup of tea’. I don’t think these people will bring business to the area.
“It’s not a good reputation for South Shields to have at all. I think people will come, but it’s not what we want for the town at the moment.”
South Shields has ongoing redevelopment work. (Image: Newcastle Chronicle)
The secondary school teacher added: “We’ve got some great facilities here, such as The Word, which is an absolutely beautiful library. We’ve got a college being built, we’ve got shops, and restaurants, but the sex club is not contributing to what we would like here.
“I’m shocked that there’s a market for it here, if I’m honest. I can see it in big cities, maybe that’s something that they would like, but in a little town, maybe not so much. Good on the club goers, it’s brave to walk in a place like that, I don’t think I could. I’d freak out. I can’t even go to Amsterdam.”
Married mum Lynsey Freestone, 51, a teaching assistant, said: “Whatever floats your boat, but it’s definitely not for me and I can’t see it lasting long in South Shields.
“I don’t think it will be a big thing here, I wouldn’t have thought so, just from living here all my life. I don’t think it will be open for long, it might just be a novelty.
“But if it’s nothing depraved, and it’s satisfying people’s fantasies, then fair enough. I think it might be just a bit of excitement for Shields and then, knowing people of Shields, they probably won’t like it for long.
South Shields, United Kingdom – January 28, 2023: People shopping in South Shields, UK town centre, (Image: Getty Images)
“I don’t really like the idea of swapping partners but, yet again, if it’s what people like then that’s entirely up to them. I don’t like to judge, but just not for me.”
John Watson, 66, a social worker, now lives in Sweden, but is originally from nearby Jarrow.
He said: “In some cases, I think the sex club could cause perversion. But it depends who you are and how you are thinking. But to be attracted to a sex club in the first place is definitely an indicator.
“You think, ‘Why the hell would anybody even think of going there?’ Curiosity, maybe.
“It’s not really dangerous, two consenting people, but there will be people who are dangerous who will go there because of the attraction and the possibility of corruption.
“It’s going to cut off the businesses close by. People will stay out of the area, they won’t want to be associated with it.
Deborah Ratcliffe, 62, a medical secretary, said she was shocked by the sex dungeon above her and husband Keith’s former building society.
She said: “South Shields doesn’t need a sex club. It’s in the wrong place. Below the sex club is where our building society used to be. So, we just cannot imagine it as a place for swinging, but what would we know?
Her husband, Keith Ratcliffe, 70, a company director, said: “This is a personal thing. It’s a choice, and the sex club is behind closed doors. I am on the fence, time will tell.
“The thing is, it’s not open to the public, you’ve got to be a member. The people who go in should want to be in there. It’s not like they’re being forced.
“But if it attracts the wrong sort of people into the town then I’ll have a different attitude towards it.”
General view of South Shields Town Hall. (Image: Newcastle Chronicle)
Grandmother Adrienne Esdaile, 69, a retired shop assistant, said: “I don’t think the sex club is not in the right place, but I’m getting older and I’m a bit of a prude now.
“I probably would have been alright with it when I was younger. I would have said ‘just go with the flow’, but it wouldn’t have been my cup of tea.
“Everybody to their own but I think it should be kept in their own four walls.”
The club’s code of conduct says male and female members, who must be aged 21 or over, should “dress to impress”.
It also has an anti-drug policy, and states illegal activity is prohibited and participation is entirely voluntary.
Its calendar also revealed that singles nights and couples-only events are on the menu.
The club states: “Our atmosphere is friendly and welcoming. Socialising areas are available for conversation, and themed events often include games or ice-breakers.
“We have a strict no photography, no recording policy. Member information is never shared, and what happens inside the club stays inside the club.”