Forum topic: Join your neighbours in objecting to more Gambling on Green Lanes

Neighbours from Melbourne Avenue and surrounding streets will be joined by MP Bambos Charalambous and Bowes Councillor Alex Diner at 5:30 on Thursday June 18th, in a show of strength against plans to open a new gambling centre on Green Lanes, just South of the North Circular Road. The proposed site, in a former estate agents and florist shop, already has eighteen licenced gambling premises within a mile and half of the location; residents are adamant that we don't need any more. 

Come along at 5:30pm on June 18th to show your support for the refusal of a licence. The site is wholly unsuitable - located on a residential street, close to schools care facilities and a home for young people leaving care. Multiple objections to the proposed licence have been lodged , from local schools, elected representatives and the police as well and hundreds of local residents. 

We hope to see as many people as possible outside the proposed premises on Thursday to meet our MP and Councillor

You can object to the licence application before June 25th Write to the Council: Send individual emails or letters to the licencing department objecting on the grounds  of crime, public safety, and protection of children, email or by post to Licensing Department, Civic Centre, Silver Street, Enfield EN1 3XA.

• Download a flyer:  drive.google.com/file/d/198PfsRI6ALIVfI8bFgIJVxCKQk7pjO67/view?usp=sharing  

After finding out the date for objections to the establishment of another 'gaming' venue on Green Lanes (funny how they never use the word gambling) I sent my comments to the council. I also sent the same email to the new leader of the council Cllr.Alessandro Georgiou who replied to me within an hour and basically said the new council are in exactly the same position as the previous council in that the law is not on their side and the potential costs in hiring lawyers to challenge and overturn such applications could be prohibitive. I don't want to sound like a killjoy, but this makes any kind of demonstration pointless. I have also been researching the subject across London and hardly any applications have been completely overturned apart from one is West London where the gambling company actually lied about the purpose of the proposed venue and claimed it was to be used for bingo. It was chucked out because of misrepresentation. Also in that instance there was a petition signed by 3,000 residents. Additionally in 62 recent planning disputes  it was revealed that despite 19 applications successfully blocked by local councils between 2021 and 2024 operators won 43 of those cases on appeal. And this one from the BBC 14 Oct 2025 — More than a third of councils in England and Wales have not inspected a single licensed gambling establishment in the past year. I would also express concern about the future of the former branch of Nat West Bank recently closed in Palmers Green. I really don't think standing outside a building with the local MP will achieve anything and sorry to say that without a change of law this situation will persist.

Neil,
It's a shame you didn't join us last evening. You would have seen around seventy residents of Melbourne Avenue and adjacent streets meeting together with our elected representatives to voice our concerns about the proposed gambling den on our residential road. We also spoke with councillors and our MP about several other local issues and - most valuably perhaps - we spoke to each other. Making connections with recent arrivals and reinforcing friendships with longstanding neighbours. our activity was far from pointless - it was rewarding and empowering.

Of course a simple demonstration will not in itself defeat the big gambling businesses - but we are not powerless. You reference the change in date of the consultation period - this was as a direct result of our neighbourhood campaign monitoring the application process and reporting a discrepancy. 

You are right there are limited power for councils to oppose based on criteria set in the 2005 Gambling Act. However the law has changed. At the end of April the Labour Government passed legislation in the Devolution and Community Powers Act which gives licensing authorities power to reject or limit gambling premises on the basis of Gambling Impact Assessments, but since the local council election Enfield has not yet adopted this new policy... So legislation is in place, but not a local implementation or borough wide policy. Our local resident's campaign may not stop this latest example of an unwanted gambling den - but we may succeed in getting the local authority to adopt policies which make it harder for new venues to be sited across the rest of the borough - I hope you would agree that this is far from "pointless".

  

Richard,
Hi, I broadly agree with you on many of the points and I did consider going, as you correctly say, it is good to meet others involved in the objections to the gaming centre. Unfortunately, the timing wasn't good for me. However it's numbers that count and just want to make two points. The centre that was prevented from opening in West London was partly on the strength of a petition signed by 3,000 people. One point I forgot to mention is that time and again the people making these applications claim (without any justification) that local communities welcome them as an addition to their high streets and that (unbelievably) their gaming centres contribute to the neighbourhoods. All of this is false but in the absence of a significant number of objections it is virtually impossible to stop these businesses ruining our areas and 75 people attending a protest simply isn't sufficient. However if that does lead to getting a larger number of people on board it would help. I am involved with the Winchmore Hill Residents Association and would like to think we could count on the 500 or so members agreeing to sign up to overturn the proposed gambling centre. Happy to hear what your next steps are going to be.