24-hour Evington Road gambling venue plan raises local concerns

Plans for a 24-hour adult gaming centre on Evington Road in Leicester have prompted concerns from a councillor and community groups. Merkur Slots UK has applied to Leicester City Council to turn a former vape shop and dry cleaners into the gambling venue.

Planning documents say the centre would employ about 12 people and support footfall and investment in the area. The council aims to decide the application by 31 December.

Raffiq Mohammed, Labour city councillor for Stoneygate ward, said the area was among the most deprived in the city. He said that opening a casino or gambling arcade there would encourage residents to spend money they could not afford to lose.

Jane Russell of the Evington Road Neighbourhood Association said the proposals were “entirely inappropriate”. She said Merkur Slots wants the centre open 24/7, meaning people arriving to gamble in the middle of the night in what is essentially a residential area.

Mushtaq Dakri of Spinney Hill Drugs, Alcohol and Addiction Support said children seeing such a venue daily could come to regard gambling as normal. The organisation has seen the devastation gambling addiction can cause, Dakri said.

The planning documents say noise at Merkur Slots sites is generally very low and disturbance to surrounding areas is effectively mitigated and minimal. They say customers after midnight are mainly local entertainment workers and shift workers. The company also says it has a number of measures in place to protect customers, including socially responsible gambling tools and management and training initiatives.

To comment on an application open for consultation, find it on the city council’s planning register and select “Comment on this application”. The council accepts support, objections and neutral comments on planning issues; reasons should be explained clearly.