Site of the proposed casino in a former bank building in Holloway Road

PLANS for an all-night casino in Holloway Road were blocked this week by Islington’s planning team – but a local campaign against the plans hasn’t won just yet.

Councillors, residents and community groups have been protesting the proposals for a new adult gaming centre (AGC) in a former Barclay’s Bank in Holloway Road since they were first announced in July.

The application was submitted by Cain’s Entertainment Limited, a slot machine arcade company based in Herne Bay. The company was recently named in a government report listing businesses that were underpaying staff. It had failed to pay £11,276.41 to three of its workers, the report revealed.

After being rejected by Islington’s planning officers, the application will now go to a licensing committee meeting on October 6, but councillors are determined to try and use the rejection as momentum to prevent its clearance.

Cllr Devon Osbourne: ‘There’s still a fight to be had’

Devon Osbourne, a green councillor in Tufnell Park who has been campaigning against the plans, told the Tribune: “This is a company that have not been paying their staff minimum wage.

“They suck up our community, they take all they can get. There are already so many gambling shops in this area, and they are targeting already vulnerable areas.

“It’s great it was rejected at planning but there is still a fight to be had when it goes to licensing. We’re not finished.”

Andy Burnham has pledged to scrap the “aim to permit” rule, a piece of legislation from 2005 which puts pressure on councils to wave through gambling venues on the high street.

“We urge the government to bring forward ending aim to permit now,” Cllr Osbourne added.

“Labour don’t want this, the Greens don’t want this, so we should have the power to stop this. What’s stopping the powers to stop this from trickling down?”

More than 80 objections were submitted to the planning process by locals, many of whom have previously told the Tribune that they are concerned about an increase in crime in an already significantly deprived area if the gambling venue were to open in Holloway Road.

Christy Lawrence, who lives on the Northview Estate just behind the proposed site, said it was “great news” that the council had turned it down.

He told the Tribune: “The company showed an arrogant, dismissive attitude towards the community, and their application was slapdash, showing a lack of care and attention. This will make the neighbours very happy. The AGC would have brought nothing positive to the area. It would have attracted anti-social behaviour and wasted people’s money, causing more hardship. We already have several gambling venues nearby.”

Islington’s planning department rejected the application on the grounds that the venue would result in “further concentration” of gambling premises within the area. It noted that this stretch of Holloway was already experiencing “significant and worsening” crime, anti-social behaviour, vulnerability and deprivation.

The Labour government has promised to give local councils more power to block planning applications from “low-value” shops like gambling premises and vape shops.

Cain’s Amusement Limited was approached for comment but did not respond. In the planning documents, Cain’s said that the new business would fill a building that had been “vacant for over three years” and “improve the evening and night-time economy”.