Norwich City Council is set to take proactive measures and make an update to its gambling policy for the first time in ten years. At a meeting, held on December 18th, local councillors discussed a new gambling statement of principles in order to help the Council deal with gambling in the city.
The City Council revealed that it plans to bring some changes to its gambling policy in order to better control gambling within the borders of Norwich. As explained by councillors, a “heat map” of vulnerable areas is aimed at helping gambling operators determine which are the most appropriate areas for them to file new premises applications.
The licensing manager of the Norwich City Council, Tony Shearman, shared with local councillors that the existing policy had not been subject to a review since 2007, in spite of the fact that it had to be updated every three years. As explained by Mr. Shearman, the Council has already appointed an independent consultant to assess the policy. Part of the review that is to be held would feature some guidelines to the parts of the city which are believed to be most susceptible to gambling-related harm, as well as the above-mentioned “heat map”.
Then, the map and the guidelines would be used to provide gambling operators that offer their services across the city with more information about the places where it would be most appropriate for them to file new premises applications.
City Council Needs a “Tougher Stance” in Its Gambling Regulation
As explained by the Norwich City Council licensing manager, a list with the most appropriate areas will be provided prior to application so that gambling operators use it when doing their risk assessments. He further noted that member councils are expected to take a positive approach when it comes to decisions on gambling licence applications.
Eventually, Norwich City Council members agreed to open a consultation on the proposed guidelines for a period of eight weeks in 2019. The exact dates of the consultation are still set to be determined.
According to some officials, however, Norwich City councillors are too mild in their approach to deal with possible gambling-related harm. As revealed by the Norwich Evening News, the Green Party councillor for the Thorpe Hamlet ward, Ben Price, urged them to use a stricter policy in order to guarantee that local people are well protected against possible negative consequences of robust gambling.
Mr. Price cited a draft policy from London’s Ealing Borough Council to illustrate his belief and said that the council had to be tougher when it comes to licensing gambling venues. According to him, the City Council must make sure that gambling operators are more responsible in their gambling policies, especially when it comes to preventing their venues worsen anti-social behaviour and crime levels in the areas they operate in.
Another official, Crome ward’s Labour and Co-operative councillor Marion Maxwell, explained that she was concerned about the chances that some gambling venues are close to money lenders or other illegal activities, but eventually confessed that this would be difficult for authorities to restrict.
- Author
Daniel Williams
