One of Hove's most unusual shops closes

A shop for transsexuals and transvestites in Hove has been forced to close.

Lacies, in Portland Road, Hove, catered for cross-dressers and the transgender community for the past eight years.

Although it raised a few eyebrows when it opened, it has traded relatively quietly and, as it turns out, perhaps too quietly.

Owner Sue Sheppard shut up shop for good yesterday having decided against diversifying into adult goods.

The cost of applying for a licence is £4,000 with no guarantee of it being granted.

And last month Brighton and Hove City Council adopted a tougher licensing policy which presumes against granting any new sex shop licences.

One neighbour said: “Some of us were concerned when Lacies first opened.

“I guess we thought that it might attract unsavoury characters and not really fit in with Hove’s more respectable image – this is an area with lots of families.

“But, while it’s not really my sort of shop, it’s been no trouble and I think a lot of people will be sad to see it go.

“We’ve lost a bit of the character in this place with its demise and we’ll have another empty shop in what should be a thriving shopping street.”

He said that the closure was hard on the heels of Tony Magdi’s greengrocers shop shutting after Mr Magdi was attacked by a road rage cyclist in November. Mr Magdi later died and his funeral was held on Thursday (30 December).