Burlesque ban is on the agenda

The meeting of the full town council takes place in the town hall on George Street from 7.30pm, with representatives of the Hebden Bridge Burlesque Festival expected to hand over a petition criticising the ban, which has been signed by over 1,000 people.

The Picture House Committee, which made the decision on the grounds that it “many people feel it is demeaning to women, and raises issues of gender equality”, has delegated powers which means that even if it wanted to full council could not overturn the ruling for six months unless a certain percentage of councillors voted in favour of quashing the ruling. Therefore it is unlikely that the decision will be overturned at tomorrow’s meeting.

However, Coun James Baker, who has spoken out against the committee’s ruling has put a motion on the agenda calling for all groups to be given equal access to the cinema.

Coun Susan Press, who chairs the Picture House Committee, has drafted a motion calling for a sub-committe to be set up to create a booking policy for the cinema.

Both motions will be discussed at the meeting and the town council will also take questions and comments from members of the public during a scheduled point of the meeting.

The meeting is scheduled to be held in the council chambers, but a contingency plan has been put in place to move it to a different part of the town hall if there is a large public presence.