LAP dancing could be brought to the Highlands on a regular basis for the first time as one nightclub launches a bid to stage the adult-only shows.

Hush nightclub in Inverness wants to host the erotic dancing, with an application to be decided by members of the Highland Licensing Board next week.

There are no premises regularly featuring such adult entertainment in the Highlands, although one-off licences have been approved in the past.

Agencies combating violence against women in the Highlands are opposing the move, citing risks of increased sexual violence, links to prostitution, crime and disorder. However, the report from the Licensing Standards Officer (LSO) to the board is supportive of the application.

It said: "Hush is a popular city-centre nightclub in Inverness. It has a trouble-free operating history and on several occasions when it has been inspected by the LSO there has been a high standard of compliance."

The club is being backed by owners of lap dancing clubs in Aberdeen which, according to that city's licensing authorities, "are run to a high standard and there are no outstanding complaints".

If the application is approved, there would be a list of strict conditions that would prevent performers being totally naked, performing in private booths or being touched or touching the club's patrons during their performance, with the report adding "the only contact allowed being the hand-to-hand payment of money at the conclusion of the performance".

However, the Highland Violence Against Women Strategy Group is strongly against such a licence being granted. The group includes representatives of NHS Highland, Police Scotland, the Highland Council, Women's Aid and Rape and Abuse Line.

The group has lodged a robust objection, which said: "There is a large body of evidence showing that 'adult entertainment' can increase crime and disorder in the areas in which it takes place."

It said there were other community safety issues that can arise. "A number of reports have concluded that where 'adult entertainment' exists, particularly in the form of lap dancing clubs, incidents of sexual violence have increased within those communities, as have women's expressed levels of fear of travelling at night within the areas."

Research had highlighted the risks associated with alcohol-related crime, including informal commercial sexual exploitation such as entertainment focusing on "sexy dancing".

The group said: "Being involved in this industry also increases the likelihood of sexual harassment and sexual humiliation. There is growing evidence in Scotland that prostitution is available in many lap dancing clubs too."

However, the report going before licensing board members disputes the picture painted and the risks of such a licence being granted in Inverness. It said: "The cited background research is quoted in generic terms and cannot be tied in reasonable terms to the circumstances prevailing in the Highland capital and more specifically to this application."