Adult shops on the Gold Coast are coming under scrutiny as the Commonwealth Games draw closer

THE push to neuter the city's sex shops ahead of the Commonwealth Games is back in action.

THE push to neuter the city's sex shops ahead of the Commonwealth Games is back in action.

Under a council plan, adult shops could find themselves exiled to industrial areas while no new applications will be accepted for major central business districts.

The move could be put in black and white as part of the council's new town plan, which will come into effect next year following consultation with the State ­Government.

Documents lodged with the State Government show adult entertainment, such as nightclubs and adult shops, will not be allowed under the new Southport Priority Development Plan (PDA).

And city leaders want the ban extended to other areas on the coast, including the Gold Coast Highway in Mermaid Beach.

Area councillor Paul Taylor said residents had concerns about the impact of adult venues on residential areas.

"I am not against sex shops but I would prefer them to be somewhere else," he said.

"The Commonwealth Games will be here in less than five years so we need to get this area looking new."

Adult shops have long been a controversial issue in the area, with community leaders leading a successful campaign to close Club X (on the Gold Coast Highway, Mermaid Beach), a meeting place that catered for homosexual and bisexual men.

Mermaid Beach Community Association president Alf Vockler supports a clean-up and said it was important that any new developments provided an economic stimulus to struggling ­businesses.

``Retail is doing badly here and there are empty shops everywhere you look so what we need is a development which will get lots of interest from the public as well as boost local industries,'' he said.

A draft copy of the full PDA is expected to be released in March next year, before the final scheme is put in place midyear.