Harringay online

Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!

Dear HoL members,

We face a another application for a gambling licence for an establishment on Green Lanes. That's seven gambling outlets along a small stretch of Green lanes. Under the current Gambling Act 2005 there's no reason why we won't end up with more.

David Lammy MP is also against this number of gambling outlets within our community. He has sent in his objections to this latest application here. To push the case for change within Parliament Mr Lammy needs as many letters from us as possible.

You are welcome to copy the letter below or write your own. Please either;

(a) email: mail@davidlammy.co.uk [suggest 'Gambling Green Lanes' for a subject heading], or
(b) write to: David Lammy MP, House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA

Here's the letter;

Your Address
Date

Rt. Hon. David Lammy, MP
House of Commons
London SW1 OAA



Dear David Lammy,

I am writing to express my concern that Harringay is facing its seventh Gambling Licence application for Green Lanes. Our area is fast turning into a gambling strip with a concentration of so many betting shops within a small area. I would like to express my strong opposition to this and am seeking your help here to stop this blight on Grand Parade.

I would like to ask what actions you intend to take as our local MP about this serious issue. Clearly there needs to be a change in the law as at present gambling operators seem to be able to establish themselves so easily within our community. This is unacceptable and we really need you to act decisively.

In the past, you have indicated that you oppose the spread of gambling establishments and would work towards bringing this to an end. We are relying on you as we realise that there are very few ways that a community or individual can oppose an application for a gambling licence. Previous community based campaigns, even with media support, have failed. I believe the increased number of these gambling establishments has changed the character of our high street for the worse. The arguments against these gambling establishments are well known;

• Attract serious crime
• Links to petty crime
• Addiction of gambling
• Bad impression given to young people
• Taking away choice for our community for essential local shopping by pricing out other businesses for leases

The current law gives my community little chance to oppose on these grounds. This must change.

We would like to see from you a clear plan of action to work with other MPs and officials within parliament to move for a change in the current law overseeing gambling establishments. We would like to see significant progress before April 2010.

Yours sincerely

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cut and paste the letter above into your email or see word.doc attached below for posting.

Please let us know here if you email/write in.

Thank you

Tags for Forum Posts: betting shops, gambling

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sent mine
Done!
If you guys have the energy for it, here's an approach that the Greens are using in Lewisham & Hackney to campaign against the Act. Here's more on their campaign. If you guys have the stamina.....

Have looked a bit more at the Greens' website and they have a parliamentary candidate for Tottenham - not sure if they're planning to have any candidates for councillors next year. But it's certainly worth putting this issue on the slate of stuff we'd like our candidates to have a position on.
As a follow up to this, I've sent the following to the Haringey Greens with an invitation to coem and comment:

As you may know, we’re facing an onslaught of betting shops on Green Lanes in Harringay. I read from your blog and website that your party is campaigning in Hackney and Lewisham to use the Sustainable Communities Act to return some power to local people around this issue. We desperately need this in Harringay & Haringey. We’d welcome your support.
Curious thing this about governments, take away community empowerment with one Act (Gambling) and attempt to give back (what they have taken away) with another Act (Sustainable Communities). Bit like the over complicated tax system we have in this country.

Of course the Gambling Act was about empowering big business with super casinos. Remember Prescott visiting the US? Thankfully that didn't get very far but we're now left with smaller businesses and their chains taking advantage of the loosening of planning law and their chains spreading like a virus within deprived areas across the country. Well done Labour.

Anyway for the moment this is what we have and so yes, well found and good idea to contact the Greens. Maybe we need to put this to Labour as well and the LDs. We're so close to the elction now we can only expect pledges within their manifestos, if anything.

Certainly something we should pick up again May 5th.
yes, very contradictory. It's like their actions on local post offices. so many campaigns by communities to keep their post offices open for so many good reasons yet ignored and closed down most of the time. but hey, the more post offices closing, the more gambling shops we can have! Yes, well done Labour, the party of the People!
I've emailed David Lammy and expressed my fears of serious crime given that this application is for a site which is by a bus stop which is usually very crowded and by one of the very few cashpoints. It's a disaster waiting to happen and it's essential that we do all we can now rather than after a disaster
Done one.
Done.
Dones, thanks for drafting this.
So that's 13 members thus far.

We need more than this if we are to seriously show that we are concerned about these increasing numbers of gambling establishments mushrooming in our area.
It's good to keep on this Matt, but in hte meantime, well done to y'all who've taken the time to write. It's a great start. My sense is that even if we got stuck at 13, it'd be enough for an MP to sit up and take notice. But if Ruth and you have the time to keep plugging away, then we might get more.

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