Liberal Democrats are calling for action to stop the increase in betting shops in some parts of York.

Lib Dems have responded to residents’ concerns that some parts of York have reached saturation point with betting shops. Currently York Council has no powers to refuse permission when there are already a large number in one specific location. This is changing the character of high streets and reduces the range of different types of shops in local retail areas.

A policy motion, approved at this week’s Liberal Democrat Conference in Glasgow, calls for councillors to be given more power to stop too many betting shops getting planning permission. Currently, many betting shops can be opened with no planning consent required. The policy would put betting shops in a new separate planning class, allowing councils to more easily control their spread. Council licensing committees would also be able to take into account how many other betting shops were in the area before approving new ones.

Cllr Ann Reid, Liberal Democrat Planning Spokesperson on City of York Council, commented:

“It Is not a matter of stopping people having an occasional flutter, but facing up to the real impact of having such a concentration of gambling premises on the high street, and the consequences that this has for many of the communities which now feel preyed upon.

“Since the last Government relaxed the planning laws in 2005 there has been a significant increase in the number of betting shops. We are increasingly seeing ‘clusters’ of betting shops cropping up across York. It is distorting the mix of shops and we know that having a wide range of different retailers is crucial to making an area an attractive location to go and do your shopping.

“This plan would mean local councillors would be able to decide whether or not to give approval to additional betting shops in their community. This means if there was a bunch of betting shops in an area or existing problems action could be taken to stop the spread.”

Notes:

The following motion entitled ‘High Street Gambling’ was approved at this week’s Liberal Democrat Conference in Glasgow:

High Street Gambling

Conference notes:
a) The increase in the number of betting shops in deprived areas since the last Government passed the Gambling Act 2005 which included the removal of the need for operators to prove unmet demand.
b) That betting shops are currently in the same use class as banks and building societies, allowing them to be opened with no planning consent required for change of use in some cases.
c) That the majority of the revenue generated from betting shops is now from high reward gambling machines rather than from traditional betting on sporting events.
d) The Portas Review into the future of High Streets describes gaming outlets as a “blight on the high street”, and that their proliferation is creating unsightly gambling ‘clusters’ on struggling retail hotspots.
e) That Newham Council’s recent refusal to allow a further betting shop application in a street with an existing proliferation, which was seen as a test case, was overturned on appeal.

Conference welcomes the DCMS-initiated review of fixed odds betting terminals, including stakes, prizes and numbers of machines and recognises that the holding of the review is a success of Liberal Democrats in Government.

Conference believes that local councillors should be empowered to decide whether or not to give approval to additional gambling venues in their community.

Conference therefore calls on Liberal Democrats in government to push for:
1. Betting shops to be put in a new separate planning use class, allowing local authority planning committees to control them
2. The Gambling Act to be amended to allow council licensing committees to take into account the cumulative impact of a proliferation of gambling activities when considering applications.