Cara McDonagh from Palmers Green Action Team on the growing creep of harmful gambling venues in the borough

Admiral Casino, an adult gaming centre in Southbury Road, Enfield Town

The recent approval of a new adult gaming centre (AGC) in Palmers Green has sparked frustration and concern – not just from local campaigners but from residents across Enfield.

The decision, by the government’s Planning Inspectorate after an appeal, followed Enfield Council’s initial rejection of the application last year and has wider implications for how the borough can defend its high streets against the creeping expansion of gambling establishments.

Overturning the council’s planning refusal is a significant setback for community groups and councillors pushing back against the gambling industry’s quiet takeover of Enfield’s town centres.

Enfield already has a high number of gambling venues – approximately 79 across the borough. In Palmers Green town centre, the new Palace Amusements venue will bring the total number of gambling establishments to six, including four betting shops and another AGC. And yet, the planning inspector ruled in favour of the applicant – despite acknowledging that AGCs are not a ‘main town centre use’ under national policy.

A big part of the problem lies in the borough’s planning policy. Enfield Council’s Development Management Document was originally written to limit the over-concentration of betting shops – but it doesn’t explicitly mention AGCs. That omission has become a critical loophole. As we at Palmers Green Action Team (PGAT) noted in our detailed appeal statement, AGCs and betting shops may operate differently, but their core function – profiting from gambling – is essentially the same. Both should be covered under policies designed to control gambling harm and protect community health.

However, the ambiguity has allowed AGC applicants to argue that the policy does not apply to them. And this isn’t just a Palmers Green problem. The borough is at risk of becoming a patchwork of gambling clusters – particularly in areas facing higher deprivation, where AGCs are more likely open. Enfield’s high streets—from Enfield Highway to Ponders End, Southgate to Edmonton – are already seeing the social and economic effects.

What’s worse is that many of the arguments used by applicants don’t hold up under scrutiny. The claim that AGCs “bring vacant units back into use” was challenged by PGAT, as we noted that Palmers Green has a healthy vacancy rate – 7%, well below the national average – and that the unit had attracted other offers, including from a dentist. Vacancy itself is not a justification when other, community-focused businesses are ready to invest.

The idea that AGCs boost footfall is also weak. Surveys by the applicant showed that just 31% of AGC visitors shopped elsewhere locally. And 24-hour operation means they’re open during hours when most shops are closed – undermining any claim of economic benefit to the wider high street.

There are also growing concerns about crime and anti-social behaviour. While the lawyers acting for the AGC tried to downplay this, community representatives at the appeal cited a sharp rise in reported crime in the area – from 25 incidents in early 2023 to 150 in October 2024. Being able to directly link it back to the increase in AGCs is challenging, however.

Along with Upper Edmonton, Enfield Highway, Enfield Town, Southgate and Bowes, Palmers Green is a designated ‘cumulative impact zone’ (CIZ), meaning the area is recognised as facing sustained pressure from crime and anti-social behaviour. But again, these CIZs only focus on licenced premises, except in the case of Edmonton which is also a ‘gambling vulnerability area’. Sadly for the people of Edmonton, this is too little, too late.

Merkur Slots, an adult gaming centre in Southbury Road, Enfield Town

Council leader Ergin Erbil has publicly joined calls for reform, saying the borough is being let down by outdated planning and gambling laws. He has argued that councils must be given stronger powers, including a new categorisation of gambling premises, ensuring venues like bingo halls and AGCs cannot bypass existing caps by splitting premises; local debt considerations in planning applications; greater oversight of the new statutory levy on gambling operators; a ban on gambling advertising; and an end to proposals that would expand adult gaming centres.

This sentiment is echoed by campaigners across Enfield. They point to the cumulative harm: the erosion of family-friendly environments, the normalisation of gambling for young people, the slow displacement of more diverse and beneficial businesses. The lesson is clear.

But if Enfield Council is serious about shaping healthy, inclusive town centres, it must urgently include AGCs in its Development Management Document and take into account their full impact. Because what’s at stake isn’t just one more unit on the high street, it’s the identity of our borough.

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