New Gambling Policy for Westminster
The Council has published its revised Statement of Principles under s349 Gambling Act 2005. This is the policy which it will apply when exercising its functions under the Act. The new policy will apply from 31 January 2013.
The consultation had focused on a number of issues on which the Council had sought views, namely the concentration (or density) of betting shops in an area; the extension of opening hours for betting shops; the association with crime and disorder in the vicinity of betting shops; and the primary use of betting shops and provision of gaming machines. The Council concluded that ‘whilst there is potential in each case for the licensing objectives and/or commission guidance to be undermined, there is currently insufficient evidence for the Council to be prescriptive in this Statement of policy about the general application of these issues to individual applications.’
Although there were no significant revisions, the Policy has been updated generally to reflect changes in law/Gambling Commission Guidance. It can be found here: http://transact.westminster.gov.uk/publications/publications_detail.cfm?ID=5676