WITH massage therapy being the boom business of Parramatta, councillors have moved to tighten controls to ensure there are no more “happy endings’’ parlours.

Cr Michael McDermott

Last week councillors put through changes to planning controls to ensure “therapeutic’’ parlours did not morph into brothels.

Councillors are concerned about the large number of applications for local therapeutic massage parlours.

Cr Julia Finn said “it appears that the only new businesses in Parramatta are therapeutic massage places’’.

“Five years ago, we had some great development in Parramatta upgrades of The Albion and P.J. Gallagher’s, for example but now the only applications we seem to get are for massage parlours,’’ Cr Finn said.

Cr Michael McDermott, who takes a strong anti-brothel stance, led the change to tighten controls on sex services and restricted premises to ensure remedial massage parlours were not used for “purposes other than remedial massage’’.

“The objective of the change is to ensure that anyone who applies to open such a massage parlour or works in a massage parlour in Parramatta must have a recognised Australian qualification or the equivalent, and they legitimately intend to offer only therapeutic massage,’’ Cr McDermott said.

“We currently have 16 such massage parlours in the Parramatta CBD alone. Internationally and across Australia, these are often used for provide sex services. It would be naive of us to think that such a problem may not have spread to Parramatta. These changes will help to control an emerging problem.’’

The new controls mean applicants and staff have to have an Australian-recognised diploma of remedial massage or equivalent and the business must be accredited with at least one recognised health fund as a registered health provider. Consent will be limited to two years, then a new development application will have to be lodged.