The human rights advocate said she is worried about the impact the shop would have on children and the vulnerable in Kensington and Chelsea
Human rights defender Bianca Jagger has called for a planned 24/7 gambling arcade opposite Earl’s Court Tube Station to be stopped.
The activist has been campaigning alongside local residents who oppose Silvertime Amusements’ application to move their shop to a larger and most prominent location on Earl’s Court Road. The application is now in the hands of the Planning Inspectorate, and Kensington and Chelsea Council as another opportunity to make the case that it should not go ahead.
Ms Jagger addressed a crowd of residents in opposition to the application at an event held at St Cuthbert’s Church last night (Thursday, September 17).
The 81-year-old, who lives near Earl’s Court Station, gave an impassioned speech on the impact the store could have on children and vulnerable people living in the local area.
“I’m opposing it as a human rights defender, as a mother and grandmother who cares about the fate of children and vulnerable people who live in this area,” she said.
Silvertime’s application was refused at the planning stage but later granted a licence to operate by Kensington and Chelsea Council. The application will need to be given both licensing and planning consent before the venue can open.
A final decision will be made by the Planning Inspectorate after the gambling chain appealed the Planning Sub-Committee’s decision. The full details of the hearing have not yet been released.
Ms Jagger, who runs The Bianca Jagger Human Rights Foundation, has been critical of the proposed site location which is larger and more prominent than Silvertime’s current venue.
“It will be right across from the Tube station where many buses come, where many children have to go to school every single day,” she said.
“It will impact not only on the community but on the most vulnerable people, on children and that is my greatest concern and that is the reason why I came here to speak. And I will stay with this campaign to oppose Silvertime all the way to the end because it’s not going to be an easy battle.”
Councillor for Earl’s Court, Councillor Linda Wade, believes that the proposed betting shop could have a direct impact on the local community.
“At the moment what we have is we have families leaving, the very people who have invested in their properties, invested in the shops their children go to school – they are leaving – because they don’t feel safe [in Earl’s Court],” she said.
She said that the council needed to “put their money where their mouth is” when the application goes to the Planning Inspectorate.
Joe Powell MP, who represents Kensington and Bayswater, said that the application represented a trend across London and the rest of the country.
“Unfortunately, we have been failing to stop these establishments from taking over far too many high streets,” he told residents on Thursday.
A representative for Silvertime did not respond to the Local Democracy Reporting Service’s request for a comment.
Legal counsel for Silvertime, Andrew Woods, said that his client has operated at its current site for 10 years with no issues, at a licensing hearing in August.
He said that the relocation to 177-179 of the busy London road would provide better and more comfortable facilities with additional gambling machines.
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