Local councillors have joined the fight against a gambling company’s ‘incremental tactic’ to rapidly change the use of its North London site, with one describing its latest application as ‘morally fraudulent’.
The Willesden premises was only approved to become a bingo hall earlier this year but the applicant has already applied to expand it into an adult gaming centre and extend the Saturday closing time until 1am – a process critics claim is a well-known tactic to circumvent local planning rules aimed at controlling the number of betting shops and gambling sites.
In February, Brent Council approved a plan by Star Commercial Property Ltd to turn the former Lloyd’s bank, located at the junction of Walm Lane and High Road in Willesden, into a bingo hall. However, just two months after getting the approval, the same company has now made a new application for the premises to widen its remit to an ‘adult gaming centre’, which had already received a furious backlash from residents.
Ward councillors representing Willesden Green have since lodged objections against the application, describing it as ‘profoundly concerning’ an ‘insult to the integrity’ of the Planning Committee. They are urging the committee to refuse the application in order to ‘safeguard residents from harm and [the] negative impacts of gambling’.
In a comment posted on the council’s planning portal, Cllr Tom Miller noted that the change would mean five gambling premises located on a short stretch of the road – including two Ladbrokes and a Paddy Power. He called this ‘too much’ and the effect is the ‘hollowing out of our High Street’.
Cllr Miller said: “As a local councillor I am profoundly concerned by this. I am even more concerned that this application turns a bingo hall into an adult gaming centre. The lack of change to the floor plan shows that the initial application was made on a morally fraudulent basis and an insult to the integrity of the committee and its members.”
He added: “Adult gaming centres replace social gambling with highly individualised and algorithmically driven forms of gambling, which seek to spur addiction and take advantage of vulnerable clients. […] This application should not be looked upon kindly and should not be allowed to proceed.”
The application, which was only submitted in mid-April, has already received 48 objections. Another Willesden Green councillor, Saqlain Choudry, said he has already been contacted by a number of residents and local groups to make sure their opposition to the scheme is heard. He called the proposed adult gaming centre ‘a threat to the vibrancy, balance and nature of the local vicinity’ and highlighted the link between gambling and increased crime.
In a letter sent directly to the Planning Committee, Cllr Choudry wrote: “Walm Lane and Willesden High Road is already subject to gambling sites and there is no economic, social or other need justifying another presence of an adult gaming centre. […] The saturation of betting shops and gambling premises increases the likelihood of crime within the area.”
He added: “A study by Ealing Council explored crime and disorder in relation to gambling premises. They stated that ‘as well as reported crime in betting premises being much higher than the controls, there was a clear and statistically significant increase in crime in the vicinity of betting shops, with the greatest correlations at the closest distances from the premises’.
“An additional adult gaming centre is, therefore, not only a worrying threat to the high numbers of vulnerable residents within Willesden Green but has potential to increase antisocial behaviour and crime.”
Council Leader, Cllr Muhammed Butt, wants local authorities to have more power to reject licence applications that it feels ‘threatens the community’s welfare and safety’ but until then the council has little power to stop them – largely due to the Gambling Act’s ‘Aim To Permit’ duty, which makes councils prioritise approval.
The updated change of use application will be reviewed by the planning committee in due course.
Grant Williams is a journalist and Local Democracy Reporter (LDR) for Reach PLC, reporting on local government, politics and community issues across London. As part of the Local Democracy Reporting Service, he has contributed to Harrow Online, covering council decisions, housing developments, transport, planning matters and stories affecting local communities across Harrow and Brent.
