New bookies set to open in Wolverhampton despite council saying ‘there are too many’
A new betting shop will be allowed to open in a former bank after a council was overruled by inspectors.
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Wolverhampton Council blocked a move by Boylesports to open a new betting shop in Princess Street in Wolverhampton city centre last year – saying there were already too many bookies in the area.
The council also said the ‘comings and goings between pubs and betting shops and loitering’ would add to the "unwelcoming feel of the area".
However, the betting company appealed to the government’s planning inspectors, who have the power to overrule the council, and won.
The government’s inspectors sided with Boylesports saying there was no evidence to suggest another betting shop would add to crime or antisocial behaviour.
On a visit to Princess Street, the planning inspector said the area was “pleasant and welcoming” and opening another betting shop would not stop the council from continuing to regenerate the area.
Boylesports also accused Wolverhampton Council of acting “unreasonably” when making the ruling but the planning inspector disagreed and rejected the betting company’s bid for the authority to cover its full costs.
The plan to open the new bookies in the former Royal Bank of Scotland branch was rejected by the council’s planners last year. The former bank closed in late 2018 and has remained empty since.
Princess Street is already home to three bookies as well as the Old Still and Duke of York pubs.
Wolverhampton Council said the move did not fit with its plans to regenerate the area when it rejected the move.
“The proposed change of use would create an unacceptable concentration of betting shops in a small area,” planners said.
“The coming and going of customers between the pubs and the betting shops, and customers, mostly men, standing outside of the shops and loitering in the street, would add to the unwelcoming feel of the area to the detriment of the character of the conservation area, increase fear of crime and antisocial behaviour, and negatively impact on the council’s aim to regenerate the area into a high-quality place to live, work and visit.”
