Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
And another gambling premises hits Green Lanes...although it's not over yet.
More cause for alarm for those of us who care about Green Lanes
Plans for another amusement arcade in Harringay took a step forward this week after a licence was awarded on appeal.
Highgate Magistrates Court granted Ablethird Ltd a gambling licence on Wednesday for 48 Grand Parade, Green Lanes, despite fierce opposition from residents.. Haringey Independent
It's not over yet because they must get planning permission which is the subject of a public inquiry. Mario Petrou, who led the campaign against the betting shop, said: "This is one more disastrous decision against local people by magistrates following another inept defence by the council.
"The council surely owes it to local people to appeal this awful decision.
"One area of hope is that planning permission is also required for this particular proposal and a date for the planning inquiry will be set soon."
A glimmer of hope?
Anyone wishing to join a new group, The Heart of Haringey, set up to oppose gaming applications should call 020 8352 1020.
Plans for another amusement arcade in Harringay took a step forward this week after a licence was awarded on appeal.
Highgate Magistrates Court granted Ablethird Ltd a gambling licence on Wednesday for 48 Grand Parade, Green Lanes, despite fierce opposition from residents.. Haringey Independent
It's not over yet because they must get planning permission which is the subject of a public inquiry. Mario Petrou, who led the campaign against the betting shop, said: "This is one more disastrous decision against local people by magistrates following another inept defence by the council.
"The council surely owes it to local people to appeal this awful decision.
"One area of hope is that planning permission is also required for this particular proposal and a date for the planning inquiry will be set soon."
A glimmer of hope?
Anyone wishing to join a new group, The Heart of Haringey, set up to oppose gaming applications should call 020 8352 1020.
Tags for Forum Posts: betting shops, diversity, gambling, green lanes, sustainable communities
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Hugh on
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Just to be clear this is one of the three we've been fighting for the past six months - not a fresh one.
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Permalink Reply by Liz on
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yes, sorry if that news made you choke into your cornflakes this morning.
Here are some links for those of you who may be new to the site and have missed the history of this one.
Betting/Gaming Shop Number 2
Licence Application for Betting Shop No. 3. Do You Want the Good Ne...
Gambling Premises No. 2 - Something You Can Do, if you Object
And for an overview of the campaign against gambling establishments in Green lanes
Betting shops on Green Lanes: Why it matters.
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Permalink Reply by Margaret Fowler on
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Last year I went out on Green Lanes as part of Mario's team with a petition to get signatures against an adult entertainment shop at 48. We got a couple of hundred signatures. I also did door to door in a couple of roads in the Ladder and in the Gardens. I was however surprised at the response i often got. A few households did not speak English very well and did not quite understand what betting shops were. Some people even said it was a good thing for people to make money. There were also more responses than I would have expected from people who didn't care about the premises and said they used them from time to time. They didn't think these shops were a threat to children or family and community use of Green Lanes.
I have to say I do not have Mario's stamina and have largely given up. I do write letters of protest on all occasions however. I am Councilor Haley's most unpopular resident I think, and I haven't been back in the country 12 months yet.
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I wonder if people understood the campaign. Some may have thought that the campaign was about removing all betting shops or a 'puritanical' anti-gambling exercise when in fact it was more about protecting our high street and preserving diversity. It is very easy for a street to change its character and therefore, its clientele and atmosphere, and for people not to notice it until its too late.
I went into bookies before I had my kids and there are distinct types of client. There is the older virtually 'professional' gambler who sit in there all day, there is also the younger males who don't do it every day and see it as part of their entertainment (my husband and his friends fell into this category), and there are the machine addicts who are putting their week's wages in, women were a rarity. Needless to say, it is a very male environment that does not encourage socialbilty and 'fun'. With the smoking ban, we now have the rather irritating 'bonus' of groups of men clogging up the pavements outside the establishments and creating a litter nuisance, some may even find this intimidating. Some objected to the arguments based on vulnerablity, seeing it as a sort of 'nanny state' attempt to tell them how they should behave, but these were the only grounds on which you could object. It is something that is very hard to quantify. How many vulnerable people does it take, one, 10, 100? How many kids in betting shops constitute a threat, most would think 1 incident was 1 too many but the magistrates did not agree.
These places are not an asset to the community and too many of them create entirely the wrong kind of message about the neighbourhood. One or two are fine but half a dozen creates problems for sustainablity and diversity.
As for gaming arcades, these are cynical establishments that are simply about parting people from large sums of money. If even one of these get a foothold on our high street, it is a disaster.
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