The Committee will appoint a Chair and Vice-Chair for this particular meeting.

The Committee agreed to appoint Councillor Allen as Chair and Councillor Hendy as Vice-Chair for this meeting.

Members will be asked to make any declarations of interest in respect of items on this agenda.

No declarations of interest were made.

To receive reports on business which, in the opinion of the Chair, should be brought forward for urgent consideration.

There were no items of Chair’s urgent business.

The Committee having:

a)    Considered the report from the Director of Public health, including the guidance and policy referred to therein;

b)    Heard from the applicant as follows:

i)             He was a Co-Director of Moneycasino Ltd and both Directors were taxi drivers who had a passion for gambling and wanted to establish a gambling business;

ii)            The company had been granted an Operator’s Licence by the Gambling Commission which had been a two year process with various courses being completed;

iii)           The premises would have CCTV (inside and outside the premises) and there would be a strict ‘Challenge 25’ to policy to prevent under 18 year olds from entering the premises;

iv)           The company would use the British Amusement Catering Trade Association (BACTA) training courses to train staff;

v)            The premises used to be a sport betting establishment which would have had a higher footfall than an Adult Gambling Centre;

vi)           The application for 24 hour opening was to enable the business to cover rent/wages and to cater for night workers. The applicant was flexible regarding the hours the premises are open. Also the premises being open 24 hours a day would prevent the likelihood of robbery;

vii)          The applicant was aware of his ‘social responsibility’ as an Adult Gambling Centre operator as he had been a gambler and was aware of the dangers of excessive gambling and would intervene where necessary and would provide a ‘cooling off area’ if customers were spending too much money or becoming stressed. He commented in his experience, most customers were not a problem and on his premises the stakes were relatively low;

viii)         The applicant outlined there would be two members of staff on duty, and the applicant intended to be present 12 hours a day on site but would continue to be a taxi driver focusing on the school run journeys;

ix)           The front of the premises would be neutral and would not encourage children to enter;

x)            The applicant accepted the plotted map is wrong because there was an ATM at the Co-Op which had not been included.

c)    Considered the representations from the objectors Councillor Dann and Councillor Aspinall who were the Councillors for the ward where the premises was located:

i)             Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) was rife in the area of the proposed premises which had caused the Police and Councillors concern.

ii)            An all-night Adult Gaming Premises would potentially increase the footfall/gathering in the area and increase ASB;

iii)           The area was a high-density residential area, with a number of HMOs in the immediate area, therefore the noise from people coming/going and smoking outside would disturb families;

iv)           The ward was a deprived area and there were issues with people with alcohol and drug addictions and there was a concern a new Adult Gaming Premises would add to the problem;

v)            With regards to Prevention of Harm or Exploitation of Children there were a number of schools in the area so the premises would be tempting to children. The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 57.