Harringay & St . Ann's news from Tottenham Labour

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Permalink Reply by Alison P on December 1, 2008 at 15:05

I'm afraid we don't have a say, nor does the council and nor does our MP. Not really anyway.

The legislation is new, it came in a few years back. You might remember; everyone got their knickers in a twist about supercasinos but mostly missed the fact that the rules would mean local councils have less control over what sorts of gambling places could open up in the area.

I don't know specifically how this relates to gaming centres but certainly councils could previously refuse to allow a new betting shop to open if they felt there were enough betting shops already in the area. That rule doesn't apply any more; now the council has to prove that the betting shop would cause harm, which is obviously harder to do ..

There are various other clauses too, which I can't remember at the moment.

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Permalink Reply by Simon T on December 1, 2008 at 15:09

thanks Alison

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Permalink Reply by Simon T on December 2, 2008 at 12:11

Hello David,
Could you as an MP work towards a change in the law to stop these applications being so easily put through despite the local community opposing it?

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Permalink Reply by Alison P on December 2, 2008 at 13:49

Thanks Nora and David, have emailed an objection.

I have a vision of a battery farm style gaming centre, with lots of people a bit like chickens in their plastic booths, pecking away ...

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