A BOROUGH has widened its regulations covering tattooing, ear-piercing and electrolysis to cover body piercing parlours.
Councillors at Pendle Council's policy and resources committee's December meeting voted to widen to extend its bye-laws to businesses carrying out body piercing and semi-permanent skin colouring activities.
Leader of the authority Cllr Nadeem Ahmed said: “The need for new bye-laws is due to the growing popularity of these activities in our area, with around five new businesses registering with us every year.”
In Pendle there are 25 premises where semi-permanent skin colouration takes place, 16 tattooists, 11 people who do electrolysis and one body piercer and an ear piercer.
Michael Duck from the council’s environmental health team said: “It’s vital that activities like body piercing are carried out in a clean environment using sterile equipment, to prevent infections and illness.
“Locally we have not had any complaints or concerns flagged up with us, but nationally there have been some serious consequences of unregulated skin piercers."
The byelaws include the use of protective clothing, hygienic piercing instruments which are sterile and disposable, cleanliness of premises and no smoking, eating or drinking allowed in any treatment area.
Businesses which breach the bye-laws could get a criminal prosecution, be fined £1,500 and have their business registration cancelled so they cannot continue with their work.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here