MP condemns eighth betting shop on street
AN MP has backed a group of residents fighting plans to open an eighth betting shop in Erdington High Street.
Locals are angry at the application to convert the vacant ground floor of a bank on the corner of Mason Road into yet another bookies.
There are already seven betting shops within the prime shopping area.
MP Paulette Hamilton (Lab, Erdington) claims they have led to a rise in crime and antisocial behaviour.
She said an additional bookmakers ‘will not help the situation’ and different types of businesses were needed to attract locals back to the area.
But the application agent said: “The proposal will increase pedestrian footfall in the immediate area and increase the number of linked trips. The ability of betting offices to generate significant footfall and contribute to linked trips has been evidenced in numerous appeal decisions.”
Local Labour councillors Basharat Dad and Suriyah Bi set up a petition against the application.
Ms Hamilton said in an open letter: “I agree with many constituents who have contacted me to object to this application. There are already seven betting shops along the High Street and this is something we should be aiming to decrease, not increase.
“Sadly, we have already seen a rise in crime and anti-social behaviour directly associated with the existing betting shops and adding another shop will not help the situation. The high concentration of betting shops along Erdington High Street also encourages problem gamblers to move from shop to shop and continue betting.
“This is deeply concerning given the extremely high levels of deprivation in the local area, particularly as most of the profits from any new betting shop are likely to come from fixed-odds betting terminals rather than over the counter betting, making it primarily a gaming establishment rather than one focused on betting.”