Birmingham MP Objects to 24-Hour Gaming Centre Plan in Cotteridge

^{Birmingham Council House, where the city's planning committee will decide on the Cotteridge gaming centre on 8 October. (Photo: Elliott Brown / Wikimedia Commons)}

A Birmingham MP has objected to plans converting a convenience store into a 24-hour "adult gaming centre", though council officers have recommended the scheme for approval.

The application covers 15 Watford Road in Cotteridge, south Birmingham, and proposes changing the shop's use to a gambling premises operating around the clock, seven days a week, alongside a single-storey side and rear extension. Birmingham City Council's planning committee is due to decide on the application on 8 October.

MP Cites Crime Fears and Duplication

Selly Oak MP Al Carns, whose constituency covers the site, told the council the plans could have a "negative impact upon the character of the area" and raised fears over anti-social behaviour, according to a council report on the application.

Carns also argued there is already a similar business on Cotteridge High Street, so there was "no justification for a second enterprise". Councillor Roxanne Green, representing Bournville and Cotteridge, separately objected, warning of a "detrimental impact on local businesses and resident" and an "over-concentration of gambling establishments" in the area.

Officers Say Planning Is Not the Right Mechanism for Crime Concerns

A council officer's report said West Midlands Police had found "nothing to suggest at this stage" that the change of use would increase crime or anti-social behaviour, and noted that any gambling premises would need a separate licence covering those exact concerns.

"It is not the role of the planning system to regulate these matters," the report said, adding that without evidence directly linking the proposed use to crime or disorder, "a reason for refusal could not be sustained."

The report acknowledged Cotteridge already has several gambling outlets, including a betting shop and casino next door to the application site, but concluded the proposal would comply with the Birmingham Development Plan. Officers also judged that noise from customers coming and going would not amount to a nuisance in a busy district centre, and that the shopfront changes were acceptable on visual-amenity grounds.

The Cotteridge case follows a string of contested UK arcade and gaming-centre applications this year, including one where a planning inspector overturned a council's refusal of a North Shields arcade on appeal.

Birmingham's planning committee will have the final say on 8 October, when it can accept or reject the officer recommendation.

Adult gaming centres are licensed separately from their planning permission, under the Gambling Act 2005 regime overseen by local licensing authorities rather than planning committees. That separate licensing process would require the operator to demonstrate how it intends to prevent underage access and manage any risk of problem gambling among customers, regardless of how the planning application is decided.

Cotteridge's existing gambling footprint, including the betting shop and casino the council report identified next door to the proposed site, reflects a wider pattern seen in district centres across Birmingham and other English cities, where high streets with lower retail rents have become attractive locations for gambling and amusement operators as traditional shops close.