This is the second time a gambling premises has tried to set up shop in the former Kilburn bank this year
Plans have been submitted to a North London council to turn a former bank on Kilburn High Street into a bingo hall for the second time this year.
A councillor has launched a campaign to oppose the proposed 24-hour bingo hall and is calling on Brent residents to object on the grounds that this would add to the “gambling harms emergency” already declared in the borough.
Firm opposition to the plans is already emerging after a unanimous consensus from all the councillors on Brent Council declared a gambling harms emergency in the borough in July.
There are currently 81 gambling premises in Brent, and the council and MP Dawn Butler have been advocating for national reform to ensure that local authorities have the power to refuse applications they deem harmful to the area and their communities.
Previously, plans have been launched to convert spaces into bingo halls, a common tactic used by gambling premises to get the application through planning and licensing before applying to widen their remit to an “adult gaming centre”.
Earlier this year, Macue Casino Slots applied to transform the same former Santander Bank branch into a gambling hub, but after a campaign by the Brent Green Party and hundreds of formal objections, the application was withdrawn.
Currently, plans submitted by Golden Slots (Southern) Limited for the Kilburn High Street premises have not indicated any intention to convert them into an “adult gaming centre”; however, this remains a concern for local ward Councillor Suzanne Gallagher, who intends to campaign against the premises.
She said: “We are still waiting for Westminster to deliver on its promise to reform the Gambling Act 2005 and scrap the ‘aim to permit’ rules, and while Brent Labour has finally passed an emergency motion recognising the £18 million extracted from our communities every year by over 80 gambling venues, motions alone won’t stop Golden Slots.
“Until the law changes, residents have to fight every single application on the ground. Earlier this year, our community came together in the hundreds and forced Macau Casino Slots to back down and withdraw their bid for the old Santander bank.
“Now, Golden Slots has come back guns blazing at the exact same address, attempting to dress up a 24-hour slot machine operation as a ‘bingo hall’ and dangle invasive facial recognition technology to convince the licensing committee that they won’t cause harm.
“Biometric surveillance is not safeguarding. Scanning people’s faces and harvesting sensitive biometric data on a diverse high street is a deeply troubling invasion of privacy and a smokescreen that does nothing to stop financial exploitation or cumulative gambling harm. Even the operator’s own risk assessment admits that 12 separate ‘High’ risks remain unresolved.
“We beat this proposal once, and we are calling on every Kilburn resident, business, and community group to submit a fresh objection before December 2 so we can beat it again.”
The application is in the consultation phase, meaning that anyone who supports or opposes the plans can do so on the council’s website until December 2.
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