Britain declares 1st permanent, legalized ‘red light district’ open for business

[YorkshireLad]

In Leeds..

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[Marmalade]

In Leeds..

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Nice one. I used to enjoy a bit of AW foraging in Leeds. Pretty good article as well! 

Good interview in the video.

[Malvolio]

Street girls are not my thing, but as the copper interviewed says, it is worth trying a different approach as they're not going to go away.  I applaud the decision of Leeds council to allow this trial.

[coolguy1990]

In Leeds..

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Very forward-thinking of them.

Get the dickhead who complained:

'People are having sex next to cars and up against buildings. Many are drug users and the evidence of drugs is there to see.'

Since when did the prostitution laws stop this happening?

[willmo1]

Great for Leeds. Apparently theyve got a phone box ready to set one up here in Norwich.

[Sonny Crockett]

Street prossies are not for me thank you!!

[vw]

'People are having sex next to cars and up against buildings.'

These moaning minnies shouldn't knock it until they try it, my personal favourite is bent over a council dustbin,  if they have these may be time for a VW road trip.

Looking forward to some street reviews from the good reviewers of Yorkshire in the mean time.

[Nagilum]

Let's go further. Not only should it be legalised, but regulated and taxed too. Free health screenings and health cards too like in countries where prostitution is a legal profession.

Oh the dream

[Marmalade]

These moaning minnies shouldn't knock it until they try it, my personal favourite is bent over a council dustbin,  if they have these may be time for a VW road trip.

Looking forward to some street reviews from the good reviewers of Yorkshire in the mean time.

+1

Let's go further. Not only should it be legalised, but regulated and taxed too. Free health screenings and health cards too like in countries where prostitution is a legal profession.

Oh the dream

I disagree. Just 'decriminalise' it. Going the whole hog puts prices up and often results in shite service. Am all for some highly regulated ones for those that like all the sanitation supposedly thrown in but I think it is more naturally a black market industry.

[Nagilum]

That is another route indeed. I just feel it adds peace of mind when you have a condom break etc.

Yeah I would not be up for the price hikes.

[jimbobwood]

Cool! My next sex vacation. Leeds here I come!

Which areas of leeds to they the street hookers ply their trade? I've heard Holbeck is the RLD, is there anywhere else! Also, any parlours like Manchester in Leeds?

[hairbald]

These moaning minnies shouldn't knock it until they try it, my personal favourite is bent over a council dustbin,  if they have these may be time for a VW road trip.

Yep but I haven't punted as regularly since the council only started collecting every other week

[Horizontal pleasures]

In Leeds..

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no menton of which district. I am not likely to go there but interested in the scheme.

[Jimmyredcab]

no menton of which district.

Holbeck --------------- wherever that is.     

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[mattylondon]

In Leeds..

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Very forward thinking and to be commended, in my opinion.

[stevedave]

To those saying "yes, this is brilliant...I'm off to Leeds"...seriously, it's just an RLD. The same as in most towns or cities in the UK.

Yeah, I've driven through Holbeck (which is byenlarge a shithole) of a night on occasion, out of curiosity. Trust me...the Amsterdam RLD this is not. The articles in the media make it sound like something it isn't...believe me, it's just a few streets where prossies are allowed to ply their trade...that's it.

Sorry to shatter any ideas!

[mattylondon]

To those saying "yes, this is brilliant...I'm off to Leeds"...seriously, it's just an RLD. The same as in most towns or cities in the UK.

Yeah, I've driven through Holbeck (which is byenlarge a shithole) of a night on occasion, out of curiosity. Trust me...the Amsterdam RLD this is not. The articles in the media make it sound like something it isn't...believe me, it's just a few streets where prossies are allowed to ply their trade...that's it.

Sorry to shatter any ideas!

I doubt anybody's ideas are going to be shattered. I think most seasoned punters understand that the key difference is that you're not going to end be arrested in this area, go to court and/or end up in the Daily Mail. Something that cannot be said for red light districts elsewhere.

I'm sure it's a shit hole, as you say but you're not there to look at the architecture, are you?!

[stevedave]

I doubt anybody's ideas are going to be shattered. I think most seasoned punters understand that the key difference is that you're not going to end be arrested in this area, go to court and/or end up in the Daily Mail. Something that cannot be said for red light districts elsewhere.

I'm sure it's a shit hole, as you say but you're not there to look at the architecture, are you?!

I genuinely saw a picture online today with the headline being about this tolerance zone being made permanent, and the pic was of Amsterdam! God, you've got to love the fucking predictable media we have!

I dont take any pleasure in this, and as someone that thinks the fact there is a legally tolerated RLD is a massive move forward, it doesn't change the fact that unfortunately a girl was murdered in this zone the week before Christmas.

Horrendous.

[Marmalade]

If it's officially tolerated, you not only get safety but quite often a better class of whores and more of them. Still a pisser if it rains unless you try to do it by car. Trying to remember if there's any prossie-friendly hotels in the area, but a summer night's knee-trembler, or blow job and fanny fumble, is not bad for a cheap note. A bit of practice makes it easy to screen out junkies, especially if you are on foot (which makes preliminary screening much easier).

I wouldn't make a special trip to Leeds: but given that it's not the worst of Northern cities and also probably still has a few decent swingers clubs, I wouldn't rush to knock it back either.

[Marmalade]

Another report:
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and another one, with a picture of Springwell Court just in case anyone has trouble finding the right bit of Holbeck 
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The Mirror cheapskates by showing a picture of a SW that's at least two years old and not from Holbeck
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(They really are lowest of the low. AnotherExternal Link/Members Only on how superslag Katie Price offers her body for 1 million. Video clip then lets her back out a bit by saying not all the way. Clearly very much an "at discretion" girl. ooops, sorry! slag.)

[vw]

To those saying "yes, this is brilliant...I'm off to Leeds"...seriously, it's just an RLD. The same as in most towns or cities in the UK.

Yeah, I've driven through Holbeck (which is byenlarge a shithole) of a night on occasion, out of curiosity. Trust me...the Amsterdam RLD this is not. The articles in the media make it sound like something it isn't...believe me, it's just a few streets where prossies are allowed to ply their trade...that's it.

Sorry to shatter any ideas!

Good, who wants the commercialised version of seedy, some of us appreciate the seediness of it without the hassle.  Like the good old days.  No ideas shattered here, have no interest in Amsterdam mark 2 .

[Marmalade]

It's been noticed that we British especially tend to like something that is slightly forbidden. I remember my disappointment years ago on visiting Amsterdam as a video store owner reeled off a list of genres with less enthusiasm than a market trader selling vegetables. There's nothing worse than the thought of bland sex. I like sex to be free of regulation and my choice, not "allowed" by Mr Osborne. If sanitation and health checks are improved with government interference so be it but local schemes show that support groups can achieve these far more effectively.

[Jimmyredcab]

To those saying "yes, this is brilliant...I'm off to Leeds"...seriously, it's just an RLD. The same as in most towns or cities in the UK.

Not really ----------------- if you punt from the street anywhere else you risk getting arrested.   

[NIK]

So much for the hopeless attempt to make all prostitution illegal and criminalise punters. I have been saying for years this is impossible, but many punters were still running scared believing Harriet Harman was going to do what had never been done before in the whole history of mankind.
Hopefully this will help to put their minds at rest and is the first step on what will admittedly be the long road to proper legalisation.

[pking_paul]

Wonder where the next City to do this will be? Any info anyone?

[mash]

Step in the right direction for sure but I dont believe street prostitution is the way forward. Too many negative connotations involved, and many have been mentioned in the article already (people fucking in public, drugs etc etc). Cant imagine a punter will cleanly dispose of their condom after or the wg will give themselves a wash in between. Will pimps be around too?! Surely a wg with brains would rather work in a brothel/off aw?

The only place I've seen street walking work is Geylang in Singapore (and I've banged some absolute stunners over there) where they work in an area full of short time hotels, where punter and wg shower before and after. No public fucking allowed. The amount of girls there actually shocked me and it felt very safe.

[Northernbloke]

Not really ----------------- if you punt from the street anywhere else you risk getting arrested.   

But will punters not be arrested? It says the women can go about their business unhindered but I haven't seen it say the same about the customers.

[Marmalade]

The only place I've seen street walking work is Geylang in Singapore (and I've banged some absolute stunners over there) where they work in an area full of short time hotels, where punter and wg shower before and after. No public fucking allowed. The amount of girls there actually shocked me and it felt very safe.

Geyland is awesome. I don't know that SWs are fully legal. So much choice. I started eyeing up a WG simply for the chase after tiring a bit of the neon show-shops.

We use the term as if it is some standard phenomena with standard pluses and heavy minuses, but there's a big range. Glasgow went through many changes. I especially liked the students occasionally skipping out of the nearby art college to get a bit of extra. In Thailand its not always clear where a bar prossie stops and a part-time streeter starts. Last one I had there I picked up at a breakfast noodle bar, agreed to come back to the hotel as long as I met her parents first (!). They were ok. So was she. Some countries have an arrangement (which beats the occasional aggro about 'not on my doorstep') where there will be a string of bars and cafes that are prossie friendly, relying on their trade, and plenty of short time apartments. In Switzerland, some of the street prossies are better than the official knock shops. Perfectly legal, they come out for business late afternoon early evening and take you to a nearby apartment to do the biz. Similar to Mong Kok in Hong Kong (except MK ones are 'semi legal'). The immediate concern for the UK is whether there are any places to go that are safe and maybe not so cold as to freeze your nuts off. Some countries have covered parking, a sort of garage space that you rent for the period, coin operated. Some old factory could be converted to provide both, but you have to go softly softly with this sort of change, not too fast.

[mattylondon]

If it's officially tolerated, you not only get safety but quite often a better class of whores and more of them. Still a pisser if it rains unless you try to do it by car. Trying to remember if there's any prossie-friendly hotels in the area, but a summer night's knee-trembler, or blow job and fanny fumble, is not bad for a cheap note. A bit of practice makes it easy to screen out junkies, especially if you are on foot (which makes preliminary screening much easier).

I wouldn't make a special trip to Leeds: but given that it's not the worst of Northern cities and also probably still has a few decent swingers clubs, I wouldn't rush to knock it back either.

I'm not sure of the ins or outs of it but if this is going to be a genuinely tolerated zone, with both punters and prossies left alone, I think that it may increase the chances of having a better class of prossie, as you say. Of course that could create it's own tensions for the better looking girl from the crack whores, who will perhaps lose out. I'm not clear what the position of the punters would be?

I can't say it would make me go up there but I just think that it's a step in the right direction. A better step would be if there were flats where they could take punters, as in Germany but hopefully not at the prices those robbing bitches charge! 

[Ben4454]

Wonder where the next City to do this will be? Any info anyone?

So they are going the Frankfurt, Germany tolerance zone route. I think legalisation will improve the safety of the prossie and punter.

[Marmalade]

Edinburgh used to have one.
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[Ben4454]

I wonder when we'll see the first ever leeds rld district review.

[Marmalade]

I wonder when we'll see the first ever leeds rld district review.

Need to be someone with a warm vehicle in this fucking weather

[NIK]

Step in the right direction for sure but I dont believe street prostitution is the way forward. Too many negative connotations involved, and many have been mentioned in the article already (people fucking in public, drugs etc etc). Cant imagine a punter will cleanly dispose of their condom after or the wg will give themselves a wash in between. Will pimps be around too?! Surely a wg with brains would rather work in a brothel/off aw?

The only place I've seen street walking work is Geylang in Singapore (and I've banged some absolute stunners over there) where they work in an area full of short time hotels, where punter and wg shower before and after. No public fucking allowed. The amount of girls there actually shocked me and it felt very safe.

Yes they could legalise it everywhere and I would never indulge. Far too many risks even without that of getting nicked. For a start most of them are filthy skanks I wouldn't fuck with somebody else's.

Many years ago I used to drive around Sheffield's red light area for the thrill of it. I was actually at uni in the area so it wasn't really out of my way. I was mainly trying to see if there were any decent looking ones. I would invariably be disappointed. 

[Marmalade]

Mum working as a prostitute takes us inside Britain's legal red light district - Mirror Online
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[Jimmyredcab]

Many years ago I used to drive around Sheffield's red light area for the thrill of it. I was actually at uni in the area so it wasn't really out of my way. I was mainly trying to see if there were any decent looking ones. I would invariably be disappointed. 

The pretty ones were probably working in London. Street punting was the best years of my life, I am talking about the early eighties, plenty of skanks but if you drove around for long enough you would spot a cutie ------ it was a different world then, no internet and no CCTV cameras.
On the street you could see what you were getting ---------------- unlike Adultwork with thousands of "headless" photos.

[Marmalade]

The pretty ones were probably working in London. Street punting was the best years of my life, I am talking about the early eighties, plenty of skanks but if you drove around for long enough you would spot a cutie ------ it was a different world then, no internet and no CCTV cameras.
On the street you could see what you were getting ---------------- unlike Adultwork with thousands of "headless" photos.

Indeed. For some reason I thought nothing of driving around for a couple of hours some nights until I found one that was sweet. Much more fun that two hours on AW not knowing what's behind the 'profiles.' Not only could you see what you were getting, I would maybe park the car and go and chat to a few before deciding. A lot easier to "walk" if she was unsuitable rather than the disappointment of a faceless character booked over the internet.

[Marmalade]

Eventually, when any RLDgets too mainstream and has actually brought tourists to the area, the big shots who have freebies try to close it down:

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Talk about biting the hand that's fed them all these years....

I think discreet walk in parlours are a good option. Dunno about England but the 'intro' system could be upgraded in some Scottish places. Instead of paying first, or walking into a room of wordless EEs, I think the system adopted by many countries is quite pleasant. Basically walk into a reception area, then receptionist calls and introduces the girls, who walk in one at a time, kiss on the cheek and handshake. Then when they've all gone back to their backroom closet, asks the punter which, if any, he wishes to book.

Another option would be to have semi-open brothels (Geneva has a couple on this model) where there are 2 or 3 resident hookers often discreetly trying to entice people in (laid-back version of the Thai/Asian 'come-inside' girls) but the place is also open to street walkers who pay a fixed fee if they come back with a punter. At least it lets SWs to operate safely side-by-side with brothels.

The drugs+crime problem and other legal concerns are readily tackle-able once the selling of sex is decriminalised as long as it is the right setup and monitored in the right way. Geneva and parts of Germany have some good examples.

What often happens, once you eliminate forced trafficking / forced prostitution and the other immoral aspects is that criminals see punters as easy pickings. Fluffys or simply idiots wander round with beer goggles or in a rose-tinted haze making easy pickings for muggers and pickpockets.

The answer is for punters to be or become as aware as they would in any situation that isn't minutely controlled.

[NIK]

The pretty ones were probably working in London. Street punting was the best years of my life, I am talking about the early eighties, plenty of skanks but if you drove around for long enough you would spot a cutie ------ it was a different world then, no internet and no CCTV cameras.
On the street you could see what you were getting ---------------- unlike Adultwork with thousands of "headless" photos.

I have only ever indulged twice.
The first was in Sheffield when I took a girl into the car at the back of a building. I can't even recall what we did, but I'm sure it wouldn't have been full sex. Nor do I know when it was or what time of day, although it must have been in my early regular punting years when I was at uni in the area between 1990 - 93. When I was writing my book I couldn't  find anything about her, so she must be one of the several who escaped my records. Can't remember at all what she looked like although she would have been young as I didn't do wrinklies! What I distinctly remember though which surprised me is that she had travelled from Alfreton on the bus. For those of you who don't know Alfreton is a mid Derbyshire town maybe 20 odd miles south of Sheffield. It cost about twenty quid and I'm was surprised at those prices it was worth her travelling the distance by bus.

The second was in more recent years in London. I picked a girl up on Sussex Gardens and she wanted to go somewhere discreet nearby, but I insisted we go back to my hotel, so it still wasn't technically a street punt. Again I have no record. I must have blocked out the street girls!

I suppose I did it for the experience. In my early punting days in the nineties I would have been up for pretty much anything, but I would never even dream of street punting again! 

[Clarkson]

I used to spin around Manchester's RLD's some years ago before all the hysteria and rule changes.  I was lucky and found one who wanted regulars. She was my type or near enough, the arrangement was perfect as she did the things I wanted and I never wanted the things she wouldn't do. I could text her and be round hers shagging within 20 minutes all for an average of £40 and no time limit.   

Then the inconsiderate bitch went an got a proper boyfriend and up the duff so that fucked that up.   

[Marmalade]

I think I've probably enjoyed most of Britain's RLD districts at some time or other; with the exception of Bristol, which has always been shit whenever I've been there. None of them can hold much of a candle now, and all of them could have been improved, but one day some more enlightened, tolerant legislation could I believe pave the way for reasonably safe RLDs, including SWs. Yet there have always been people more in favour of 'stoning Mary Magdalene' than shagging her. I doubt that the fact that 'Jesus' seemed to have made her his regular helped much. Bloody fluffy.

[CoolTiger]

The city that allows women to sell sex....

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[adindas]

In Leeds..

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Thanks for this good news. Hopefully other city councils will follow. Doing this it will not do harm to society. No victim as both party’s, the punter and the prostitute achieve their goal. Also it will save policing time as it is focusing in a smaller area.

I feel very sad when I hear the news that street prostitutes are getting murdered. They are one of the most vulnerable people in the community.

[Ben4454]

The thing with legalisation is it brings out a better quality of working girl also. Has anyone been to this?

[mash]

The thing with legalisation is it brings out a better quality of working girl also. Has anyone been to this?

If you read the article, it focuses on a crack addict.

What are the rules of the managed area?
Working on streets outside the agreed area or times will not be tolerated
Litter including condoms/wrapping/syringes should not be left
People should respect business and other properties
Crime, public disorder and anti-social behaviour will not be tolerated
No drug use is allowed

What do the police think the syringes are for then??

The next morning it is clear it has been a busy night, they leave behind litter - beer cans, condom wrappers - you can see why people coming back to work are not happy.

This scheme is utterly flawed.

[ramrodronnie]

Let's go further. Not only should it be legalised, but regulated and taxed too. Free health screenings and health cards too like in countries where prostitution is a legal profession.

Oh the dream

Agreed Nagilum, defo agreed!

[sigmund]

Let's go further. Not only should it be legalised, but regulated and taxed too. Free health screenings and health cards too like in countries where prostitution is a legal profession.

Oh the dream

Might make the chancellors budget speech a tad more interesting

"From Midnight tonight there will be an additional 20p on hard sports, 35p on pegging and to combat the cost of STIs to the NHS I shall introduce a special unprotected penetration levy of £2.75" 

[Marmalade]

I don't agree. I think even the sex workers' union has moved that it be decriminalised rather than legalised. Just let them do their own thing, and let support groups do their work. There's no need, in my opinion, for interfering legislation to tell prossies and punters how to behave. It's a black market industry that should be tolerated i.e. not illegal. Remove all the legislation about prostitution as well. Crimes such as forced trafficking, coercion, underage or non-consensual sex are all covered by existing statutes and are and should be no different for prostitutes than any other person.