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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Entertainment
Ben Arnold

New Bolton swingers club with 'playroom and dungeon' planned next door to 'Dave's Aquarium'

Bolton could be on the cusp of getting a brand new swinger’s club. Set over two floors, the members-only club has plans in for approval with the council, and includes sauna areas and a ‘dungeon’.

If the plans go through, the club could be up and running by next year, on the site of Dave’s Aquarium on Folds Road, at the edge of the city centre. The aquarium was previously closed in 2021 after an RSPCA raid during which several animals were removed.

Plans for the new club, which would occupy the same site show the bottom floor would feature a bar, dancefloor, couples’ changing rooms, lockers and a pool table. Upstairs, meanwhile, will boast a series of private rooms, ‘swing beds’, a sauna, waterbeds, a four poster, Roman and African-themed rooms, a mirror room, a large communal ‘playroom’, and a UV room.

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There will also be a large ‘dungeon’ room, a mini cinema, a massage and steam room, and outdoors on a decked area, a hot tub and swim spa. The bars will not serve alcohol, but club-goers will be allowed to bring their own, and there will be outdoor covered smoking areas too.

Plans for the club are in now (Bolton Council)

Couples will be allowed to register for membership and join the club at the door, while singles will have to go through an online registration and vetting process.

The man behind the planning application, Peter Hemingway, already owns a similar club in Leeds called Pandora’s. The club, dubbed 'the largest swingers club in Yorkshire', is built in the former Shoe Central shoe outlet in Armley and has proved successful despite some initial objections.

The new club would be nextdoor to Daves Angling Supplies (Manchester Evening News)

The Bolton club would be built within the site of Dave’s Aquarium and Dave’s Angling Superstore on Folds Road, both established businesses also owned by Mr Hemingway, with the club being developed in the space currently used as a storage warehouse for the aquarium.

The aquarium had its licence removed by the council in 2021, after a visit from the RSPCA and Trading Standards during which concerns were raised about the health and wellbeing of the animals on site.

Several animals, including reptiles, rabbits, mice and birds, were removed from the premises during the visit, though Mr Hemingway challenged the ruling, and denied any claims of animal mistreatment. The aquarium is now open and trading again.

Plans for the swinger’s club, which is as yet unnamed, will be open to consultation until April 24.

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