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Forum topic: Merkur Slots campaigners call demonstration for Friday 25th June

Merkur Slots campaigners call demonstration for Friday 25th June

PGC Webmaster

18 Jun 2021 22:07 #6071

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[Original article]

Following the last-minute cancellation by the council of the scheduled review of the Merkur Slots gambling licence, the StopPGMerkurSlots campaign is calling on Palmers Green residents and children to "stamp their feet" between 3.30 and 5.30 on Friday 25th June outside the shop where the 24-hour slot arcade is due to open.

A flyer distributed by the campaigners (content reproduced below), accuses Enfield Council of "surrendering to the gambling giant's notice of legal proceedings" and demands that "hundreds of valid oppositions" are counted in. A section labelled "The Facts" sets out the campaign's timeline of events between the submission of a licence application in November 2020 and the demonstration announced for Friday 25th June.

STAMP OUT GAMBLING - DON'T BET ON OUR FUTURE

Children, parents and residents in Palmers Green resort to stamping their feet to demonstrate against Merkur Slots invading their high streets - in Palmers Green and across the UK.


For local families, residents and businesses who are committed to the regeneration of their declining high street, the decision to cancel a planned hearing to review Merkur’s license comes as a blow.

Enfield Council surrendered to the gambling giant’s notice of legal proceedings and at the very last minute rejected the application for review that had been previously accepted after over 4300 people signed a petition.

It’s a ‘David against Goliath’ kind of battle that local residents have been fighting hard to safeguard their communities from all the dangers associated with gambling: crime, addictions, the exposure of children to what is NOT a game!

We are aware that the Gambling Act 2005 is one of the stumbling blocks, however we argue that our democratic right to object to the license in the first place has been trampled. When the review was reopened we sent hundreds of valid oppositions and we now demand that these are counted in, and that we are heard!

The facts:

  • On 30 November 2020 Enfield Council received an application from Merkur for a premises licence for gambling at 292/292A Green Lanes.
  • The consultation runs until 27 December 2020 whilst in full lockdown. We were all in a ‘stay at home’ order due to the pandemic, and with a reduced footfall on the highstreet, and no communication from the Enfield Council we were in the dark of this new development.
  • On January 4 2021The licensing authority ( Enfield Council) was legally obliged to grant the licence because their application met the legal requirements of the Gambling Act 2005.
  • February 2021Our petition to say NO to Merkur Slots gathered over 4300 signatures (now over 4500) which forced the council to take notice and reopen the consultation process.
  • We prepared a case, campaigned, gained crime data from the police under the Freedom of Information Act and our local MP Bambos Charalambous presented the situation in Parliament.
  • on 14 April 2021, Cllr Nesil Caliskan, Leader of Enfield Council, submitted an application for a review of the gambling premises licence with support from the local resident-led campaign group and Palmers Green ward councillors. This was accepted.
  • We successfully mobilised the local community and 239 representationswere  submitted for the review  of which 96 met the criteria  to be deemed acceptable· These came from faith leaders, our local MP/councillors our London assemble rep, school leaders, resident societies, mental health projects  a large number of Local residents as well as business owners and traders
  • Friday 11 June 2021Just a few days before the review hearing, Merkur Slots issued Enfield Council with notice of legal proceedings and challenged the review itself.
  • Tuesday 15 June 2021Upon this challenge from Merkur Slots, the Council Monitoring Officer rejected the application for review that had been previously accepted and the licensing sub-committee hearing that would have taken place on 16 June 2021 was cancelled. At 18:10 residents receive the cancellation email.
  • Wednesday 16 June - 10am that’s when the hearing was scheduled. And that’s when instead it all came at an abrupt end and we were left powerless to face the cancellation of the meeting.
  • Similar Merkur Slots gambling arcades have been approved in Enfield Town and Southbury and are currently operating in Edmonton, Barnet and dozens of other deprived locations across the uk
  • Friday 25 JUNE - 15:30 The community will stamp their feet demonstrating along Palmers Green high street

 Contacts: Giorgia Scaturro, , 07833970798

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Merkur Slots campaigners call demonstration for Friday 25th June

PGC Webmaster

23 Jun 2021 23:51 #6072

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Among the people demonstrating on Friday outside the shop that's due to become a Merkur Slots branch will be the co-leader of the Green Party of England & Wales, Sian Berry, who's expected to make a short speech. Sian is also one of the London-wide members of the London Assembly. Our constituency Assembly Member is Joanne McCartney, who represents Enfield & Haringey, and she's also been invited, as has Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London. We can also expect to see local councillors from Palmers Green and neighbouring wards there.

In their invitation to the Mayor, the campaigners wrote:

The pandemic is having a catastrophic impact on the more destitute citizens who are a target of these gambling centres. Merkur Slots do not add any value to our local community, in fact they will contribute to bringing more debt, more addiction, and mental health issues in areas that are already seeing high rates of crime, homelsness, and domestic abuse.


Further messages of support have come from Bambos Charalambous MP and Councillor Nesil Caliskan.

In a tweet Bambos Charalambous wrote:

It is deeply disappointing that Merkur Slots has issued legal action against Enfield Council, going against the wishes of our community, elected politicians and at a cost to Enfield's taxpayers. This shows that power is in the hands of businesses and not in the hands of local people and local government. The Government must make urgent changes to the gambling licensing regime and I hope that our campaign, which encouraged hundreds of residents to respond to their consultation, will result in positive changes to preserve and Improve our local high streets.


In her message to the campaigners, the council leader explained why the council had no choice but to cancel the review:

Just a few days before the review hearing, Merkur Slots issued Enfield Council with notice of legal proceedings and challenged the review itself. Upon this challenge from Merkur Slots, the Council sought expert legal advice from a QC and it was clear that that the likelihood of the Council preventing the licence from being granted was extremely low and the associated cost for the Local Authority could be an extortionate amount. At this point, the legal and financial risk to the tax payer became far greater and not justifiable. Based on the fiduciary responsibility that council officers have as set out in the law, officers were obliged to act upon the expert advice of the QC.


She emphasized her continuing commitment to the campaign:

Gambling and gaming venues cause incredible harm to individuals and communities. I just wish the national legislation gave more weight to the well documented views and evidence we provided. I remain committed to campaigning on this issue and lobbying the government for a change in the law. I also think we have an opportunity to harness the existing campaigning led by local residents to roll out an Enfield Council public health campaign raising awareness about the harm of gambling and deter residents from supporting gambling businesses in our town centres. As promised, I will be preparing a letter to local residents to update them on the latest situation with Merkur Slots’s application.

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Merkur Slots campaigners call demonstration for Friday 25th June

Philip Sheffield

24 Jun 2021 14:41 #6073

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This is a great initiative and the FLDRA fully supports the protest. We are ready to stamp!!

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Merkur Slots campaigners call demonstration for Friday 25th June

Colin Younger

26 Jun 2021 16:12 #6077

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Sian Berry, Bambos Charalambous, Joanne McCartney were among those addressing the protest group.
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Merkur Slots campaigners call demonstration for Friday 25th June

Colin Younger

26 Jun 2021 16:18 #6078

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Sorry, Chris, I should have included Chris Kaufman as one of the speakers...
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The people of Palmers Green say No to 24/7 gambling in our high street

PGC Webmaster

28 Jun 2021 00:01 #6082

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As you can see from Colin's photos, there was a good turnout - over 100 people. There wer speeches by Bambos Charalambous, MP for Enfield Southgate, Joanne McCartney, Assembly Member for Enfield & Haringey, Sian Berry, a London-wide Assembly Member and co-leader of the Green Party, and Chris Kaufman, representing Unite - The Union. Unless they were there in disguise, there was no sign of any of the three Palmers Green ward councillors.

Sian Berry
{mp4}Sian_Berry_at_Merkur_Slots_Demo_in_Palmers_Green{/mp4}

Bambos Charalambous - just his voice to begin with
{mp4}bambos_charalambous_merkur_demo{/mp4}

Chris Kaufman, before and after being rudely interrupted by the landlord of the property where Merkur Slots will be located. At the start of the footage, Chris is talking about a former colleague who disappeared for two hours each lunchtime because he was addicted to slot machines.
{mp4}chris_kaufman_merkur_demo1{/mp4}
{mp4}chris_kaufman_merkur_demo{/mp4}

No footage of Joanne McCartney (if anyone has any, please get in touch).

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