IT would be premature for campaigners to start celebrating the closure of lapdancing club The Lodge, despite the refusal of a licence by Oxford City Council.

And it may be that the licensing and registration sub-committee sabotaged its own decision.

It would be a huge surprise if the owners of The Lodge do not challenge this decision, and the words of Colin Cook, the executive member who oversees such licensing matters, will surely come back to haunt them.

Among the grounds given for refusal were the venue’s proximity to St Ebbes Church, the Westgate Shopping Centre and the historic tourist centre. Mr Cook told the Oxford Mail this was not a moral judgment but it is hard to see how it can be anything but.

Crucially, the proximity to places of worship, shopping centres or schools are grounds the council CAN refuse a sexual entertainment licence — not MUST refuse.

So the discretionary element means councillors have made a conscious decision about whether it is acceptable to have such a venue in its location — a moral judgement if ever there was one and one the legal eagles will surely home in on.

We are not making this point because we are judging the merits of whether The Lodge should continue trading. What concerns us is whether the decision-making process on this significant local precedent was fatally flawed.