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A high street bingo venue will open in the former Barclays bank on Station Road in Hayes. Hillingdon Council’s licensing subcommittee granted the licence on Monday (October 27). The venue will be operated by the Merkur Group, originally known as Cashino. It will operate solely on the ground floor of premises.
It will specifically be a bingo venue, offering both virtual bingo, bingo on gaming machines, and traditional bingo games within the premises. It will not be a bingo hall, rather it will broadcast a live bingo game that you can play in a traditional way alongside the virtual offerings.
The venue will be open from 9am until midnight, seven days a week. Despite the applicant often offering 24-hour venues, it has not at this stage sought a 24-hour licence. Councillors were reminded by the applicant of the “aim to permit” policy. This is part of a national law which sets out that as long as gambling facilities demonstrate the ability to meet regulations, local authorities have limited ability to reject an application.
Dawn Butler, MP for Brent East, has brought this policy into national debate, arguing that local communities and councils should have greater powers to say no to new gambling venues. She has urged the government to remove or reform the “aim to permit” policy.
The committee were told that the applicant has never had an application for a premises licence rejected. Additionally, Merkur says it has never had a licence called in for a council review. The application received no objections from any relevant authorities, however one objection was raised by a resident. Ms Christine O’Hara-Carnduff raised concerns around the potential impact on parking in the area.
However, a representative for the Merkur Group argued Ms O’Hara-Carnduff had “misunderstood” the company’s plans. They went on to say that the number of visitors to their premises is usually less than ten at any given time. The licence was granted in full by the licensing subcommittee. It is unclear at this time when the venue is likely to open to the public.
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