Plans to expand a Lower Hutt brothel have resulted in claims that it will lead to the "breakdown of the nuclear family", and cheap sex for truck drivers. The large house has previously been a restaurant, and a home for the South African ambassador.
A brothel has been operating there since August and Yan Mao is now seeking to increase the number of women on the premises. Neighbours claim it will lead to drug abuse, a loss in property values, undesirables hanging around, and extra traffic.
Connor Duffy put in a submission on behalf of 'Melling Residents'. It would also attract undesirables. Chris Mathieson expressed similar views: "A commercial brothel of this size risks becoming a hub that attracts unsavoury people β¦ this could include drug dealers and street prostitutes.
Karen Spiers was concerned about the women who worked in the brothel. New Zealand Prostitutes Collective co-ordinator Catherine Healy said she had visited the brothel and it appeared to be well run. The issues raised by objectors were not backed by evidence and showed an ignorance of how brothels throughout New Zealand operated, she said. There was also no evidence that brothels lowered house prices. Council planner Peri Zee recommended the application be declined, noting many of the issues raised by neighbours, including the breakdown of the nuclear family, were not covered by the Resource Management Act.
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Comments on this article have now closed. Brothel in Lower Hutt will lead to family breakdowns and cheap sex for truckies, say residents. Nicholas Boyack , Nov 23 A brothel in a Lower Hutt home that once housed the South African ambassador has outraged some Melling residents. Prostitutes Collective co-ordinator Catherine Healy believes concerns raised by residents are unfounded.
