Bid to curb betting shop ‘blight’ gains support from local councils

Labour candidate for London Mayor Ken Livingstone visited Mare Street with Hackney Mayor Jules Pipe and other Labour politicians last year, calling for greater power for local councils to oppose the opening of more bookies. Photo: Figen Gunes

Hackney’s betting shop boom is under threat as council leaders across the country are calling for greater local powers to prevent new ones opening.

Earlier this month (Tuesday 8 November), the Local Government Association (LGA) and the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party Harriet Harman both said local councils should be given extra powers to limit the number of betting shops in any given neighbourhood.

There are 64 betting shops in Hackney, including eight on Mare Street, and the borough is home to three times as many betting establishments as the average local authority area.

The LGA claims that high numbers of betting shops result in “crime, disorder and misery for local people”, and says councils should be able to block new openings “if they are to cause a public nuisance.”

Ms Harman, meanwhile, released a report this month which claims that betting shops are a “blight” to local communities. She said: “Local councils and communities [should] be given more powers to limit the number of betting shops opening.

“There must be the right protection in place for our high streets and vulnerable communities.”

“Evidence from across the country clearly illustrates the need to end the domination that gambling firms are extending over our high streets. Now is the time to prevent these shops from blighting our high streets and the lives of the most deprived people in our communities.”

Theses concerns echo those of Hackney Council, which raised the issue of the proliferation of betting shops some time ago.

In 2009, using the Sustainable Communities Act, Hackney Council put forward a proposal to the government to limit the concentration of betting shops in the borough’s high streets.

Only last year, Diane Abbott, MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington, claimed the density of betting shops was “turning Hackney into a mini Las Vegas”.

“I and the people of Hackney do not want the future of our borough to be gambled away like this,” she said. “Hackney has high levels of unemployment and poverty, and betting shops are a temptation to make money quickly.

“They also attract crime and anti-social behaviour to surrounding areas without offering any benefit in return,” she added. “The government and local councils need to act together to stop our high streets being dominated by the gambling industry.”

The Mayor of London Boris Johnson joined into the debate last month, encouraging a national change to planning laws which would restrict the the growth of bookies.

“I recognise that betting shops have an important role to play in our culture and provide entertainment to many people,” he said, “but there is a balance to be struck between having betting shops as a part of the high street mix and the negative impact they can have on shoppers and visitors when they start to dominate.”

The London Mayor had previously been criticised for refusing to introduce a London-wide planning policy encouraging councils to take action on the saturation of betting shops, takeaways and other types of business.

Green Party London Assembly Member Darren Johnson has welcomed the Mayor’s call for the Government to introduce planning powers to “help control the proliferation and clustering of betting shops”, and will be asking the Mayor again to use his own powers to tackle this problem.

Mr Johnson said:” I’m glad the Mayor has changed his mind about this. Lots of communities are crying out for help in stopping their high streets being taken over by betting shops, takeaways, off licenses or estate agents.

“I’ll be repeating my call for the Mayor to do his bit by writing it into London’s planning policy. When I asked him last year to help councils stop areas becoming overwhelmed with certain types of business he dodged it.”

He said: “Lots of communities are crying out for help in stopping their high streets being taken over by betting shops, takeaways, off licenses or estate agencies. I’ll be repeating my call for the Mayor to do his bit by writing it into London’s planning policy.”

The Association of British Bookmakers (ABB) has, in response to criticisms, expressed its disappointment at the various “unwarranted” attacks on a “responsible and well-regulated” industry.

“There is absolutely no evidence that betting shops increase poverty in local communities,” said Dirk Vennix, the organisation’s chief executive.“In difficult economic times, politicians need to support businesses, not go out of their way to attack what is, for most people, a fun and safe experience in a friendly environment.”