Plans for Bradford's first lap dancing club have been thrown out by councillors.

Bradford Council's licensing panel voted not to lift its 14-year ban on striptease acts to allow lap dancers to perform at Monroes bar in the city centre.

But councillors failed to explain the reasons for the decision - and barred the press and public from listening to the debate between panel members as they took legal advice behind closed doors.

Announcing the decision, panel chairman Councillor Martin Smith (Cons, Ilkley) said the applicants had failed to provide "sufficient reasons" for the ban to be lifted. Instead it granted Monroes, a nightspot in Cheapside, Bradford, a normal entertainment licence - including a condition which bars striptease.

It means Bradford Council remains one of only a handful of councils in the country to ban stripping in pubs and clubs.

But Steven Selby, who was applying for the licence for Monroes, said he might appeal against the decision.

John Cordingley, the leasing consultant who was representing Mr Selby, said his client was unhappy at the decision. "We are surprised at the refusal, especially in the current climate," he said, "There is an appeal procedure which we will have to consider."

A second application, to open a new table dancing club in an empty building in Edmund Street, Bradford, also failed to go ahead. Leeds-based Land Leisure withdrew its application from yesterday's licensing panel meeting after plans to develop the building hit problems with planning regulations. Its bid for a licence is expected to be heard at the next panel meeting.

John Pennington, president of Bradford Chamber of Commerce, branded the ruling over Monroes "disgraceful". "I didn't agree with the original ban on stripping and I think it is a reason why some businesses in the city have had to close. This is a setback and whoever has made this decision must be living in the last century."

Under the plans, lap dancing would have been introduced initially on Fridays only, between noon and 8pm. It would have featured women dancing topless or naked in private booths, out of the sight of the main bar area. Up to three women would have performed at any one time.