CHURCHES, schools and residents have won their fight against the opening of a sex shop.

Councillors have refused to grant a license for adult videos, DVDs and magazines to be sold from a former sports shop in Borders Lane, Loughton, after they were handed more than 60 letters of objection and a 250-signature petition against the plans.

Merlyn Evans, 26, who runs the charity Epping Forest Youth For Christ, said: “I’m pleased that the council has listened to our voices.

“I think overall, the right and sensible decision has been made by the council.”

He objected to the plans, fearing a sex shop would send out the wrong message to children and young people in the area.

Helen Seaman, 41, who lives in nearby Barfields Gardens and also objected to the shop, said: “It’s really brilliant. People I have spoken to who didn’t know about it have been really shocked that it was even being considered because it’s such a family orientated area.

“One lady over the road said she had only just started letting her 10-year-old go to buy the bread and if there was something like that there, she wouldn’t let him.”

Philip Bonavero, who represented applicants Deborah Flack and Ian Adair during the council’s licensing meeting in Epping today (Tuesday), said most of the objections were on moral grounds.

“The idea that somehow this establishment would make the community unsafe - there’s no evidence to support that,” he said.

He added that the applicants had planned to black out the windows of the shop so children could not see what was on sale and that anyone who looked younger than 25 would have been asked to prove they were over 18.

“The word ‘sex’ will not appear anywhere on this,” he added. “The word ‘adult’ will appear to denote what it is. It will possibly be called ‘Fantasy’ or something along those lines.”

Mr Adair said only a fifth of the shop’s stock would have been the adult magazines, videos and DVDs that he would need a license to sell, with the rest mainly being made up of underwear and fancy dress.

But the council refused to grant the license because the shop would have been close to schools, a college and places of worship, as well as family homes.

Mr Adair said he would not appeal the council’s decision. “It just wasn’t meant to be,” he added.