Brent Council is calling for gambling related harm to be treated as ‘a serious public health emergency’
A North London council has declared ‘a gambling emergency’ and is calling for every lawful tool available to be used “to create a hostile environment” against further growth of the industry in the borough.
At a Full Council meeting earlier this week (July 6), Brent Council’s Labour members brought forward a motion to declare the emergency and launch a ‘Gambling Harms Strategy’ to combat the proliferation of premises across the borough – often situated in many of its more deprived areas.
The local authority suggests gambling harm should be treated as “a serious public health emergency”, following a recent assessment that identified the financial, health, and social costs of gambling harm locally – including its “links to debt, poor mental health, family breakdown, crime, and inequality”.
Tabled by Kingsbury Councillor, Jasbinder Bajwa, the motion – which passed with cross-party support – commits the council to “setting out a joined-up approach” across licensing, planning, public health, community safety, schools, debt advice, and resident support in order to tackle the growing issue.
There are currently 81 gambling premises in Brent and the council – alongside 40 other local authorities and local MPs – has been running a national campaign advocating for gambling reform that would give councils more power to refuse applications it deems harmful to the area and their communities.
Opposition parties have also been campaigning against the number of gambling premises in Brent, including a recent demonstration organised by Green councillors outside a former bank on Walm Lane in Willesden which was subject to an application for an adult gaming centre licence.
The application for the Walm Lane site – which already had 19 gambling businesses located within a 1.7-mile radius of it – was ultimately refused by the council. While the decision could still be appealed by the applicant, it could help set a precedent for the local authority to refuse similar proposals moving forward.
Cllr Bajwa said: “Residents should not have to watch their high streets permeated with gambling premises while councils are left with limited powers to act, and where residents and councils do not want gambling premises, they should have the power to say no.
“With 81 licensed gambling premises in Brent, it is easier to find a betting shop or adult gaming centre than a supermarket. Any limited business activity these premises bring is far outweighed by the wider harm they cause. The growth of the gambling industry should not be supported in our borough and that every lawful tool available should be used to create a hostile environment to its entrenchment.”
The government is introducing Gambling Impact Assessments to empower local authorities to limit the over-concentration of betting shops and gambling premises in their areas. As part of Brent’s declaration, the council is urging the government to set a date for its implementation “as soon as possible” so operators “cannot rush applications through under the old regime before councils are equipped to act”.
Brent Council has also agreed to write to major landowners in Wembley to emphasise its opposition to gambling advertising and the “normalisation of gambling in public spaces”, as well as continuing to work with residents, MPs, other councils, and campaigners to push for a new Gambling Act “that puts public health first.”
Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Public Health, Cllr Liz Dixon, said: “The motion is labelled gambling harms immersion, and rightly so, but the conversation really is about something more fundamental, […] It’s freedom from harm.
“Freedom from an industry that too often profits from vulnerability, from financial distress, from isolation, and from addiction. It’s often a hidden addiction, there’s a psychological harm to it. You can’t always see it, but the families can see it, they’re the ones who often suffer from it.”
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