This depressing news was almost inevitable - as a former bank there's no change in use involved so barely a tick in the box is required from the licensing committee in order to provide us with our
Please read the two posts on Crosswhatfields and consider writing to the council to object. However I do feel that this issue needs a wider campaign; stronger powers for councils have been mooted but may come too late for Deptford. Suggestions welcome either in the comments box or email me at the address in the sidebar.
14 comments:
There are benefits too.
There will be at least 5 jobs generated and competition has improved price control. Also Betfred are a large properly run company who follow the rules on care and tax etc.
Is it so depressing that Deptford people can spend their leisure time in a nice new well-run shop?
Are people seriously saying that having a 10th betting office situated on Deptford High Street is somehow for the greater good of the community? As high streets go Deptford High Street isn't that long, so having a 10th betting office is simply ridiculous. And anyone that is naive enough to think that this will improve price control either doesn't understand how betting works or thinks that the rest of us don't. Yes it will create jobs, but that is hardly unique to the gaming industry.
Sorry, I forgot to add that I personally have nothing against the gaming industry myself and even occasionally use the local betting shops. however, I feel that DHS has reached it's saturation point in this respect.
DHS doesn't need 10 betting shops anymore than it needs 10 butchers or 10 candlestick makers.
There are actually 10 betting shops in Deptford already.2 Paddy Power,2 William Hills,2 corals,Better,McDonnell,Ladbrokes and Coomes.
Deptford people already have TEN other such premises in which to spend their time and money. They are certainly all large companies and I don't doubt that they 'follow the rules' on care and tax and so on. They are obliged to do so in order to obtain and keep their licenses.
But why do we need eleven?
The first of the two posts on the Crosswhatfields website quotes the licensing authorities; they do not appear to consider the shear number of betting shops on DHS to be an issue - i.e. it is not considered grounds for an objection. That should not put people off objecting of course but as with all former license applications going right back to when we lost Hales Gallery to Coral, for whatever reason, it looks as though these people have an interest in Deptford and wont be shaken.
In respect of future use of the Halifax site, the planners are powerless; there is no requirement for a planning application to change use from a bank to a betting shop. The only thing they can try to do is to prevent these people from brandishing their livery and cheap aluminium shop fronts up and down the high street (a conservation area as Im sure you are all aware).
As soon as I see a planning application in for one such shop front, brash advertising, satellite dishes and etc, at the Halifax site I will let the Dame know.
What we all need to do then is to SUPPORT the planners (there are design guidelines for conservation area shop fronts and they don't include nasty cheap aluminium) by OBJECTING to the application.
Lewisham Planners twice refused the proposed changes to the Deptford Arms, they have fought off one appeal and are fighting another (recent changes to the building are still unauthorised), but they need our support.
I will keep you posted.
So what? Deptford High-street has at least double that number of 'barbers'.
They clearly believe they have a market, and if they don't... it shan't be the public purse which is diminished.
Or is this just so much hand-wringing paternalism?
Oh! Deliver them from temptation!
Fried chicken, betting shops and brothels: they're symptomatic not causal.
@anonymous; look at poor areas in the US, and there's plenty of research and evidence to show that casinos, rather than producing jobs or income, suck money out of the community - US government reports have linked them with higher levels of crime, suicide and bankruptcy.
As for leisure choices - ANOTHER betting shop doesn't increase choice - it decreases it.
when i saw that an application for another betting shop was in the window of the now disposed Halifax i was absolutely livid. I cannot believe it could even be considered, you seriously cannot tell me that the council have no say over what type of business is to replace halifax. I have children as well as many of my friends and neighbours, we are all ready pretty peed of to say the least , of the amount of beggers, drinkers, and drug addicts on deptford high street , already congregating outside the existing bookies. Do the council seriously think that all that deptford residents are are people who have no ambition and drive to do anything other then gambling.why not put something enterprising there or something we dont already have like a health shop. some serious objections need to be raised as this is bringing down our community, if anything is already existing please contact me goodsale_uk@yahoo.co.uk i will be happy to assist you. we have to have our voices heard.
when i saw that an application for another betting shop was in the window of the now disposed Halifax i was absolutely livid. I cannot believe it could even be considered, you seriously cannot tell me that the council have no say over what type of business is to replace halifax. I have children as well as many of my friends and neighbours, we are all ready pretty peed of to say the least , of the amount of beggers, drinkers, and drug addicts on deptford high street , already congregating outside the existing bookies. Do the council seriously think that all that deptford residents are are people who have no ambition and drive to do anything other then gambling.why not put something enterprising there or something we dont already have like a health shop. some serious objections need to be raised as this is bringing down our community, if anything is already existing please contact me goodsale_uk@yahoo.co.uk i will be happy to assist you. we have to have our voices heard.
@ anon 21.05 if you check out the link to Crosswhatfields blog you can find the details of how to register your objection.
For clarification of why it is so difficult for the council to prevent this, see Keith's comment (and previous posts on this blog).
Have just been reading David Lammy MP's arguments with William Hill. Have posted on Crosswhatfields. Funny how the industry is very quick to respond to blogs – your first comment, Dame, obviously written by their PR machine...Same thing happened to Diane Abbott in the Hackney Post. Their arguments are facile. There are only two jobs going at Paddy Power (with two shops in Deptford) but there's a ruddy great poster in the window of the high street branch offering life changing opportunities!
This is all so depressing. These places do indeed suck money out of the community and encourage antisocial behaviour. Yesterday walking home past paddypower on Evelyn St I saw a group of 5 street drinkers standing outside the by the entrance each holding a can of lager, there were empty cans discarded by the door and they had a carrier bag with further cans inside. I came home and called up Lewisham council who could only put me through to a voicemail service (I left a message asking them to call me back and am still waiting to hear from them!) and then called paddypower who said that they would address the issue with the area manager. I asked them to call the shop directly and ask them to address it immediately. These establishments do not help make Deptford a better place
Post a Comment