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On 23rd March Enfield Southgate MP Bambos Charalambous presented a petition to parliament requesting a review of gambling premises licences granted during the coronavirus lockdown, citing the case of the granting of a licence for a 24-hour gambling licence for a new branch of Merkur Slots in Palmers Green.
Palmers Green residents campaigning against the planned Merkur Slots 24-hour arcade have been told that it will be possible to review the granting of a gambling licence without waiting for the venue to open first. The campaign is being supported by all three Palmers Green ward councillors, the council leader and the local MP, who has raised the matter in parliament, but a key obstacle is the fact that current law makes it difficult for councils to control the proliferation of gambling establishments - which is why residents are being urged to submit evidence to a review of gambling legislation.
The residents' group campaigning against the opening of a new Merkur Slots 24-hour gambling arcade will be meeting virtually on 18th March to discuss the way forward. They will be joined by councillors from Palmers Green ward, officers from the council's licensing team and, if he can make it, by Enfield Southgate MP Bambos Charalambous. Council leader Nesil Caliskan has also been invited, but to date has not responded. Written advice obtained by Bambos Charalambous appears to suggest that the granting of the license for the premises was entirely in order. The group is asking residents to write to the MP who is leading the cross-party review of the present Gambling Act 2005.
Thanks to the pledges and likes posted by local people on Facehive, the Palmers Green Action Team's project to start creating a green chain from Broomfield Park to Hazelwood Rec is now assured financially. The money taking the project over the finishing line came in the shape of a grant of £4,065 from the Mayor of London. Added to the more than £1,500 pledged by individuals and organisations, that takes the total to just under £6,000, 128 per cent of the target of £4,363.
As the number of signatures on the Stop the Slots petition exceeds 4,100, the residents behind the campaign against a new gambling arcade in the the heart of Palmers Green are growing impatient about the lack of action on the part of Enfield Council. The cabinet member for licensing and regulatory services says that gambling premises do not fit the council's vision for town centres, but Merkur Slots say that they are a 'passionate supporter of high street regeneration'.