THE owner of an unofficial ‘strip club’ on Lagoon Drive has closed up shop and handed over the business to his partners. Shaun Russouw (48), the man behind Teazers and former owner of the Diamond Grill & Lounge in uMhlanga, says he is no longer in business.

The Prestondale resident said he would not be drawn into a comment about the legalities of the strip club, preferring to say the business had ‘changed ownership’.

“I’ve handed the business over to one of my partners and I’ve decided to move on, ” he said. He added he had settled the matter with the eThekwini Municipality and maintained that the definition of strip clubs remained a grey area.

But last year, the Business Licensing Department of the city fined Russouw R2 000 for not having a licence to run a strip club.

In an interview with the Northglen News last year, Russouw explained the grey area in his own words.

“The municipality has argued that I don’t have the paperwork or licence to operate a strip club. Yet I’ve been zoned as intermediate commercial as well as transitional. No one wants to talk to me, and I have the same licence as a nightclub in uMhlanga as well as another adult business in the area. I’m operating a strip club but it’s discreet; it bothers no one and there’s no noise,” he said.

uMhlanga ward councillor, Heinz de Boer, said he had been aware that the strip club was not in operation any more.

“In light of of pending legal action, I cannot say much more. It’s been proven that residents of uMhlanga were opposed to the establishment from the beginning. The area is not designed for this type of entertainment,” he said.

De Boer added to his knowledge, the business was now operating as a pub and restaurant.