It might look like a Tudor house in need of some TLC but one mock-heritage building in Torquay is turning heads for all the wrong reasons.
The white wood-beamed windowless building in the Devon seaside resort may look quaint on the outside but inside it’s a different story all together. In fact, it’s a sex club.
Within Temptation, is a ‘family run’ swingers club a boasting a fully-equipped dungeon and play rooms, where it hosts X-rated parties on weekends.
But far from delighting the locals, families living near the den of desire have complained they are being kept awake by noises from horny punters.
The venue was granted a Sex Entertainment Venue (SEV) licence in April having previously operated without one for three years.
It might look like a Tudor house in need of some TLC but one mock-hertitage building in Torquay is turning heads for all the wrong reasons
Within Temptation, is a ‘family run’ swingers club a boasting a fully-equipped dungeon and play rooms
Families living near the den of desire have complained they are being kept awake by noises from horny punters
But some neighbours say they have had enough and want the club gone.
Helen Hood, 49, who shares a flat with her husband overlooking the club said: ‘I don’t like it, the noise keeps me awake at night.
‘I can hear shouting in the garden, I can’t see the people but I can hear what’s going on.
‘It’s a complete nuisance at the weekend from 11pm to 4am. I hate it, I want it shut down, the sooner it’s gone the better. The council should have never allowed it here.
‘That used to be a nice pub but now when you go into town there are young girls and men standing outside. It doesn’t give the town a good reputation.
‘Sometimes you have people queueing outside waiting for it to open and I can hear them giggling and arranging ‘swaps’ – it’s not nice to hear.
‘You have to be careful because we sometimes find used condoms left on the steps nearby.
‘They could do so much more with that, make it something for the whole of Torquay, not just people randomly having sex.’
Neighbour John Novak, 65, and his daughter co-own a property near the club.
He told MailOnline: ‘We have complained about the noise on several occasions which goes on until 2am. People come out into the back garden and smoke too.
‘We have no objections to people who choose that lifestyle for themselves but it’s not really what people want on their doorstep.’
When the club applied for its SEV licence, a neighbouring language school objected on the grounds that it was inappropriate to have the venue so close to pupils aged 13 to 18.
John Novak says he has been disturbed by the activities going on at the club
Locals say the swinger club’s garden can be very loud and suggestive at night
The club hosts X-rated parties on weekends where anything and everything goes
But Torbay Council found the school finishes three hours before the club’s 8pm opening time.
Peter Hughes from the language school said: ‘I’m not prim and proper but it’s a bit close.
‘The way they were bleating on about not making any money and not being able to afford the electrics I was expecting a for sale sign to go up any day.
‘The state they keep the garden in is bloody disgusting, it’s a tip. It’s history to me though, there’s nothing I can do.’ During the licence application, club owner Lisa Harry vowed to improve the appearance of the area surrounding the club.
Mrs Harry told councillors: ‘We’re just a friendly bunch and we’re trying to keep it like that. If people have got an attitude I won’t have them here.
‘It’s a family-run business. We don’t want people coming in and thinking it’s a brothel. It’s not. We run it for like-minded people who enjoy that side of life.’
MailOnline has contacted Within Temptation for comment.
