A BILL to change the rules governing lap dancing clubs has passed through the House of Commons.

Durham MP Roberta Blackman-Woods called for reform after Vimac Leisure tried to open a lap dancing club on the city's North Road.

The MP called for lap dancing clubs to be reclassified as sex encounter establishments, making it easier for councils to refuse licences.

The change was included in the Policing and Crime Bill, which received its third reading in the Commons - its final stage - on Wednesday.

Dr Blackman-Woods said it was "great" the Bill had passed the Commons.

Vimac's plans for The Loft nightclub were approved by Durham City Council in August 2007, despite widespread public opposition.

The decision was overturned by magistrates on appeal - thought to be the only case in the country in which residents had successfully challenged the granting of a licence to a lap dancing club.

Dr Blackman-Woods said: "I tabled amendments in the Bill, which were debated yesterday, to strengthen the Bill in two ways.

"Firstly by making the new regulations mandatory on all councils in order to give local residents an increased say in every part of the country, and secondly to prevent pubs and clubs from holding lap dancing nights under 'Temporary Event Notices' on a limited number of occasions each year.

"The Minister responded on the point about Temporary Event Notices by saying that the Government is looking at ways of strengthening the restrictions with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, including by giving councillors more say, when the Bill is debated in the House of Lords.

"I pushed the Home Secretary to go further, for example, by embracing 'Community Calls to Action' which would empower people to push their local authority in one direction or the other.

"This Bill is great news for those of us seeking better regulation of the lap dancing industry and more power to local people.

"I look forward to its Lords stages and becoming law in due course."