Truro sex shop wins legal battle against Cornwall Council

Cornwall Council has been forced to stump up £2,000 in costs after losing a legal battle with a Truro sex shop.

The owners of Mrs Palm sex shop on Little Castle Street are rejoicing at the provision of their customer’s right to buy sex objects unobserved.

Councillors tried to insist on CCTV coverage inside the store.

But sex shop bosses Nikki Hewett and Edward Braxton Reynolds successfully argued at Truro Magistrates court that the private nature of the products which they sell mean CCTV would be a violation of their customer’s right to privacy.

As a result of the magistrate’s decision, the Council will have to pay the legal costs of Miss Hewett and Mr Reynolds which amount to £2,067.

Mr Reynolds said: “I’m delighted at the judge’s decision and that the expectations of the privacy of our customers can be maintained - indeed that this one specific reason that the district judge has adopted in his judgement.

“I’m relieved that it now appears to be over, I’m relieved that our customers can shop with the privacy they expect and rightly demand. This is the last chapter in a long running saga.”

Mrs Palm opened in 2010 against fierce opposition from local residents and businesses.

Many were concerned about the shop’s location next to a school uniform outfitters and the possible effect caused by the sale of products including rubber goods, adult DVDs and lingerie on the “tone” of Little Castle Street.

Since then Miss Hewett and Mr Reynolds have faced several campaigns calling for the closure of their business, including a judicial review asking for their business licence to be revoked.

At a Cornwall Council licencing committee meeting in October 2012 the pair’s application to not have CCTV in their shop was rejected on the grounds that it was a standard condition, it would promote public safety and it would provide a safeguard for the premises.

Believing this to be an unfair judgment, Mr Reynolds spent between 130 and 140 hours preparing research and hiring a solicitor to appeal this decision during the past year.

Despite being given two opportunities to withdraw their actions, the Cornwall Council licencing committee refused to drop their case against Mrs Palm.

“I understand that the council has incurred not only some of my costs but its own as well. It is not my place to pass comment on their judgements. The council were doing their job and seeking to defend their policy,” Mr Reynolds added.

The business pair finally heard last month that their appeal had been successful and they had won the right not to have CCTV installed in their shop.

In a court paper explaining his decision, district judge, Nicholas Sanders, said: “The reason given by the committee for refusing the application not to impose CCTV on the applicant as a licencing condition was public safety.

“Not only can I find no evidence to support this rational, I can find no evidence to support and other rational.”

But the district judge said that Cornwall Council would be able to revisit the decision if they had any future evidence for the necessity of CCTV in the shop.

Miss Hewett said: “It’s such a relief. Any other decision from Truro Magistrates would have ruined my business. It’s just such a relief.”

A spokesman for Cornwall Council said: “The Council notes the decision of the Magistrates' Court.”

At the time of going to press Cornwall Council was unable to say how much the legal proceeding have cost them in terms of man hours.

But the authority said that the statute which currently requires sex shops and sex cinemas to have CCTV is due to be reviewed next year and a change in policy can be considered at that time.