“When I discovered the fetish scene by going to the Backstreet as an 18-year-old, it saved my life,” one man wrote.
It is very important to have safe spaces for the whole community.”ĭozens of men who regularly visit the Backstreet, which boasts the “strictest fetish dress code in Europe”, wrote to the council during the six-year planning battle to explain the importance of the club to them. “This kind of venue really matters to us, it matters to Tower Hamlets and to the whole of London. “It is the last true gay fetish club, and diversity matters to us,” she said.
Cllr Rachel Blake, the borough’s deputy mayor, said the council viewed the 34-year-old Backstreet bar as “an important community asset” and was “going the extra mile… to protect safe spaces for our diverse community”.
