Plans submitted to the council said Mecca had seen a “growing demand” for late night bingo but the company has since withdrawn the proposal, reports Nick Clark, Local Democracy Reporter
Mecca Bingo has withdrawn plans to open its Dagenham venue 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The withdrawal comes as Barking and Dagenham Council is considering bringing in tougher new gambling policies.
The council says its changes will focus “more on preventing harm and improving public health” and protect “areas experiencing higher deprivation”.
Mecca Bingo’s planning permission at London East Leisure Park currently limits its opening hours to between 8am and 2am.
The company applied to change this to 24 hours a day, Monday to Sunday. Plans submitted to the council said Mecca had seen a “growing demand” for late night bingo.
They also said Mecca’s current late-night opening had not led to any complaints, and noted that The Gym Group and McDonald’s, both also at London East Leisure Park, can already open for 24 hours.
A planning statement said: “The premises has operated at this location continuously since 1996 and a 24-hour-a-day operating model is considered appropriate for the venue due to the evolving nature of the leisure and entertainment sector, particularly in urban locations where the applicant has seen a growing demand for flexible, late night leisure facilities.”
However, Mecca withdrew its planning application on Friday, 31st July, three days after the council announced a public consultation on changes to its gambling licensing policy.
The council says it wants to make sure its policy “strikes the right balance” between supporting the local economy and entertainment, and protecting residents from gambling harm.
It also wants to take into account the risk that gambling might pose to “vulnerable people” such those in financial difficulty, with mental health conditions or addictions, who are homeless, or are “affected by social or economic disadvantage”.
Consultation documents say that “the biggest change” in the proposed new policy is: “A move from a mainly licensing-based approach to one that focuses on preventing harm and improving public health.
“Gambling can affect many areas of people’s lives, including finances, mental health, relationships, housing, personal safety and community wellbeing.”
The draft new policy also says that gambling harm can disproportionately affect areas with high levels of deprivation and inequality.
It notes that Barking and Dagenham has “high levels of deprivation compared with many other areas of London and England.”
The new policy would ask gambling businesses to show how they would “mitigate local risks associated with gambling premises, particularly within areas experiencing higher levels of deprivation” when applying for new gambling licenses.
The new changes would affect licensing, rather than planning, policy, and so wouldn’t have directly affected Mecca’s planning application.
However, Mecca would have also needed permission to change its licensed hours, which its planning statement said it had applied for.
Mecca did not respond to a request for comment.
The consultation on the proposed changes finishes on Monday, 24th August. They can be read the council’s One Borough Voice website, where there is also a survey.
Announcing the consultation last week, senior Labour councillor Syed Ghani, responsible for licensing, said: “We want to ensure our Gambling Policy reflects the needs, experiences and priorities of local people.
“As a council, we have a responsibility to support safe and well-regulated gambling whilst doing everything we can to protect residents, particularly children and vulnerable people, from gambling-related harm.”
