Harrow Council has thrown out plans to open a 24-hour adult gaming centre in the town centre due to concerns it would “have a very negative impact” on residents living nearby.
JMS Planning and Development Ltd was looking to re-establish a previously granted application, allowed under appeal, to open the gaming centre on Station Road in Harrow Town Centre. However, the building the approval was attached to – previously in use as a betting shop – has since been demolished and redeveloped.
Harrow Council officers had recommended that the plan be approved as it would be an acceptable use in the town centre and “would not unduly impact the neighbouring residential amenities” However, the Planning Committee unanimously voted to reject the plan as it “would be detrimental” to people living above and behind the building.
Since the original building has been demolished, the site has been redeveloped with the construction of a four-storey building with residential homes on the upper floor and a currently vacant commercial space on the ground floor.
Planning permission had previously been granted for use as an adult gaming centre before demolition and the applicant was looking to carry it over to the redeveloped site. Some residents had opposed the plans due the potential “negative impact from gambling”, the fact that there are already two similar sites in the town centre, and the possible increase in anti-social behaviour – none of which are planning reasons to refuse.
However, the Chair of Harrow Council’s Planning Committee, Cllr Marilyn Ashton, brought the application before councillors as she didn’t agree with the recommendation to approve and believed its impact on residential amenities meant it could be challenged.
Cllr Ashton said: “In my view this will have a very negative impact on people living above it, next to it, and behind it because it is open 24 hours-a-day. […] With all the development that now exists, and will exist in the future, near this facility I don’t think is acceptable.
“The proposal to place a gaming centre in the new development building on this site – owing to the nature of the proposed use, along with the 24-hour opening times – would be detrimental to the residential amenities of the neighbouring properties, resulting in noise and general disturbance.”
Cllr Ashton subsequently proposed a motion to refuse the plan, which was approved unanimously by the rest of the committee.
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.
