Fears over Newbury town centre 24-hour gambling project

Councillors consider 'Cashino' bid for Market Place

A ROUND-the-clock gaming parlour in Newbury town centre will attract crime and disorder, critics have claimed.

And Cashino Gaming’s plans for a 24-hour bingo and slot machine centre in Market Place will aim to attract “the low paid and people on benefits”, according to opponents.

Members of West Berkshire Council’s licensing sub committee were considering the application for a change of use from a betting shop at the former premises of William Hill bookmakers at 11-13 Market Place to an ‘adult gaming and amusement centre’ during a virtual meeting held online on Monday, November 9.

More than 80 people had signed petitions opposing the bid.

However there were no objections from Thames Valley Police, environmental health officers or the Gambling Commission.

One objector, Alfie Grant, told the applicants: “Your customers are low paid and people on benefits. If they’ve got a fiver in their pocket, they think ‘I might go in there and make it into £10 or £15’, but when they come out they’ve lost it all.

“Most people walk out of machine places with their head low, because half the time they feel ashamed they have been in there. We do not need these premises.”

Mr Grant also claimed that setting up an adult gaming centre will lead to an increase in crime.

He said: “It happens three or four days later, when they get home and ain’t got no money; they ain’t got money for their groceries and ain’t got clothes for their children.”

Mr Grant added: “It will mean an awful lot of money out of the pockets of people in Newbury which they then can’t spend in other shops.”

Martha Vickers (Lib Dem, Newbury Central) said concerns about the impact of gambling “need to be dealt with at a national level” and cannot be addressed by the council’s licensing sub-committee.

But she also warned that a 24-hour gaming centre could cause “a big nuisance” for nearby residents and said the opening hours should be restricted.

Philip Kolvin QC, for Cashino, said there were no grounds to “chop away” at his client’s opening hours and told the committee there was no evidence to suggest the centre would generate an increase in crime or anti-social behaviour in Newbury town centre.

He said the company runs 170 gambling venues across the country and police have never called for any of their premises licences to be revoked.

Mr Kolvin added: “The reason my client’s venues are not on police radars is because they rarely generate crime and disorder – players come in, usually alone or in couples.

“They play the machines for a while, they have a cup of tea and wander out again.”

He said no alcohol will be served; children and people under the influence of drugs or alcohol would be barred and the company will install a “first-class CCTV system” to be monitored by trained staff.

If the licensing application is approved, people will be allowed to play on the bingo machines between 9am and midnight, but the slot machines will run 24 hours a day.

Cashino also needs planning permission to set up the gaming centre and its application was expected to be approved by West Berkshire Council planners yesterday, Wednesday (November 11).

Meanwhile, the licensing sub committee was expected to announce its decision on Monday, November 16.