Whilst walking around the Market Place visiting the “Christmas Celebration” which I felt was going very well; I could not help but notice that the bookmakers and the existing slot machine shop in town were lit up and had patrons after 7pm and I wondered why the district council planning committee is not unanimously rejecting the application to add another gambling venue to the centre of town?
Why would we want a business in our town that not only adds absolutely nothing to the community but will in fact likely be a further detriment? It feels like inviting an extra drug dealer into the area and offering to turn off CCTV cameras and re-route police beats where they intend to operate.
If the district council wants this business space to be occupied, if it wants to add amenity for the residents, why not offer introductory preferential business rates to attract a productive business as they do for the innumerable charity shops in the town?
Personally I feel the town needs to offer something more for children/teenagers who seem to be generally overlooked and we are all aware of the need for more dentists.
Spalding seems to be suffering from a race to become a homogenised, anonymous, carbon copy of every other failing town in the country, I feel it started with the cancellation of the flower parade.
We need to hold ourselves to a higher standard and do the things to ensure our town not only retains the good things it has, but also strives to improve. This is the trust we put in our councillors.
Another gambling den will provide absolutely no added value and call into question the council’s ability to make decisions on behalf of its tax payers.
David Doherty
Weston Hills
Editor’s note: The Merkur Slots planning application has been refused by the district council planning committee but Merkur has since appealed the decision.
An application for a bingo licence has been approved.
