Bambos Charalambous has called on Enfield Council to reject the application from Palace Amusements for yet another adult gaming centre in N13, reports James Cracknell
A local MP has joined residents in Bowes who are opposing plans for a new 24-hour adult gaming centre.
Southgate and Wood Green MP Bambos Charalambous wrote to Enfield Council calling for the Palace Amusements licence application to be rejected after around 500 local residents signed a petition.
The proposed slot machines site would occupy a former estate agents and a florist on the corner of Melbourne Avenue and Green Lanes, despite there already being a 24-hour gambling venue run by the same company just over half-a-mile up the road, in Palmers Green town centre.
In recent years Palmers Green has become a hotspot for adult gaming centres, which are widely linked to gambling addiction in local communities.
Last week, almost 70 people attended a protest and were joined by their local Labour MP.
“This is not Las Vegas – it’s a suburban community where people live, raise families, and expect to feel safe on their local high street,” a spokesperson for the local ‘Stop the Slots’ campaign said.
“A 24-hour gambling venue sends entirely the wrong message and risks changing the character of our area for the worse.”
Residents say they are particularly concerned about the impact on younger people, the vulnerable, and those already struggling with financial pressures. They also fear the consequences of a business operating throughout the night in an area surrounded by homes.
Writing on social media, Charalambous said: “We do not want another adult gaming centre in Bowes Park. I have made a formal objection to the licence application.
“It was fantastic to see so many passionate residents join me and [Bowes ward councillor] Alex Diner along Green Lanes to demonstrate the strength of feeling on this issue. We are fighting back.”
In his letter, Charalambous objected to the licence application on two grounds; the prevention of crime and disorder and the protection of children and vulnerable persons.
The licensing application is available on Enfield Council’s website here, with the deadline for comment now being extended until Thursday, 25th June. Objections can be made via email to [email protected].
Earlier this month, Elisa Morreale, the council’s new cabinet member for licensing, said that while the council believes gambling and gaming venues “offer limited benefit to local communities and risk undermining these aims” the civic centre’s role is “governed by national legislation” which “makes it challenging to prevent new premises from opening, even where there is strong local opposition”.
Asked to comment in response, a spokesperson for East Kent Leasing Ltd, which owns Palace Amusements, said: “Palace Amusements has over 50 years of trading history on high streets and sea fronts right across the country.
“We have proudly operated over-18, alcohol-free entertainment venues within Enfield borough for many years and are immensely proud of the jobs we create and the value we add to the communities we operate in.
“Our recently opened Palmers Green North venue created ten full-time jobs in a shop which had previously stood empty for two years.”
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