Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Queen's Speech Offers Hope of Relief on Green Lanes Gambling
This week's Queen's Speech included a little-noticed clause highlighting the Government's intention to prevent the "clustering of gambling premises".
I'm sure that we're not the only ones to have experienced a sudden influx of betting and gaming shops since the change in legislation. This week's announcement is the Government's response to our combined voices of protest.
There is no legislation drawn up yet. Proposals are contained in with a new Fair Rules for Strong Communities report, published just this week. The relevant passage from page 45 is reproduced below:-
I'd rather have seen something a little less hedged about with "looking into" and "investigate how". This makes it sound rather less than concrete and certainly some way off. Still, there's hope and I guess, at least, it's a positive response to a strong reaction to what is a most ill-considered piece of legislation.
Thanks to an Sygrave of the LCSP for picking up on this story.
I'm sure that we're not the only ones to have experienced a sudden influx of betting and gaming shops since the change in legislation. This week's announcement is the Government's response to our combined voices of protest.
There is no legislation drawn up yet. Proposals are contained in with a new Fair Rules for Strong Communities report, published just this week. The relevant passage from page 45 is reproduced below:-
I'd rather have seen something a little less hedged about with "looking into" and "investigate how". This makes it sound rather less than concrete and certainly some way off. Still, there's hope and I guess, at least, it's a positive response to a strong reaction to what is a most ill-considered piece of legislation.
Thanks to an Sygrave of the LCSP for picking up on this story.
Tags for Forum Posts: betting shops, gambling
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Alison P on
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Ooh, well spotted Ian and Hugh, that does give me a little hope that something might just happen on this front.
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Permalink Reply by Joe on
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I wouldn't bet on it. Oooh dear, what a cheap shot, but someone had to say it!!!
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Permalink Reply by phippsofacto on
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I'll have 5/1 on nothing happening.....
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Permalink Reply by Clive Carter on
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Yes, well spotted and deservedly flagged up. I think its significant that this passage is there at all.
"Clustering of betting shops" is pretty specific. From the language used, I would take it that there is a lot of appreciation of the problem already and that investigations are well advanced. Any possible amending legislation will take time.
On the subject of gambling in this Borough, I hope that our council will voluntarily give up the gambling premises licence they awarded themselves at Alexandra Palace, setting a regretable precedent. It will begin to be used near the end of this month with the World Darts Championship.
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Yes indeed.
But last year, they managed to hold a hugely successful event, inlcuding gambling, with just a Temporary Use Notice, applicable for eight days.
The point is, they did not and do not need a permanent gambling premises licence that the council pushed so hard to get. The first application for that, was in the name of the council's then favoured property developer, Firoka. Firoka's principal Firoz Kassam who lives in Monaco for some of the year is keen on casinos and the suspicion was that the licence application – four days later switched into the name of the council-owned and council-controlled trading company after a falsehood was discovered – was to establish a precedent for the casino.
No fewer than six members of the public were on the team of Objectors at the Licensing Hearing (outnumbering the council's Full Licencing Committee (!). That council committee, chaired by the pro-casino-at-Alexandra Palace Councillor Harry Lister, awarded the Licence to themselves.
The whole thing had the appearance of corruption quite apart from the questionable notion of establishing permanent gambling in the heart of a charitable trust.
A casino had been promised to Firoka in the secret Lease (after about a year of first complaint to the Information Commissioner, I managed to extract a lightly redactecd copy of the Lease from the council, without the financial data).
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Permalink Reply by Sapphireblue on
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Wow you ARE well informed... I'm glad there are people like you keeping tabs on these guys... well done...
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