24-Hour Gambling Venue Approved at Former Leeds City Centre Cafe

^{Kirkgate Market in Leeds city centre, near the site of the approved 24-hour gaming centre. (Photo: Hullian111 / Wikimedia Commons)}

Leeds City Council has approved plans to turn a disused café on Vicar Lane into a 24-hour adult gaming centre, despite objections from nearby businesses who argued the area already has too many gambling venues. The decision adds another gambling venue to the city centre's retail core at a time when councils across England have been debating whether they should have greater power to limit the spread of betting shops and arcades.

Gaming company Noble Corp Ltd applied to change the use of the former Swissly Cafe, near Kirkgate Market, from a Class E café to a sui generis adult gaming centre. The council's planning application reference is 26/03453/FU. A planning officer's report accompanying the approval stated the centre "would operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week" and that its internal layout "includes gaming machines, a cash desk, storage and toilet facilities." Adult gaming centres fall outside the standard planning use classes in England, meaning each application is assessed individually by the local authority rather than being granted automatically.

Objectors Cite "Over-Concentration" of Gambling Venues

Planning consultants acting for two unnamed nearby businesses objected to the application. One submission argued "there is already a concentration of gambling-type uses in the surrounding area and a further unit would lead to over-concentration," according to the council's report. The new centre will sit near existing betting premises including Betfred, Admiral Casino and William Hill, part of a cluster of gambling venues that has built up around the Vicar Lane and Kirkgate Market area over several years.

"The applicant is an experienced operator, with other AGC premises including 24/7 venues, and all operate without complaints of noise, anti-social behaviour, crime or other nuisance," planning agent Woods Whur said in a statement submitted in support of the application.

£150,000 Investment Expected to Create Six Jobs

Noble Corp, which already runs licensed venues in Bolton, Durham, South Shields, Wigan and Stockton-on-Tees, has taken a 10-year lease on the Leeds site and intends to invest around £150,000 in the fit-out. The new gaming centre is expected to create six full-time jobs and will still need a separate premises licence, issued by the council's licensing committee rather than its planning committee, before it can open to the public.

The council's planning report noted that bringing a vacant unit back into active use "is welcomed," while recommending that crime-prevention measures such as CCTV, alarm systems and anti-social behaviour controls be put in place. Woods Whur's submission framed the investment as a vote of confidence in Leeds city centre, arguing the 10-year lease term "demonstrates a long-term commitment to the site which will support the economic role of the city centre and create an added leisure use." Full details of the decision are available on the council's planning portal under reference 26/03453/FU.