Community concern over mini casino plan for Corby's Rockingham Road

Community leaders in Corby say they are worried about plans for a mini casino in a neighbourhood parade of shops.

Councillors in the Lloyds Ward have been informed of a proposal to open a mini casino – likely to mainly consist of automatic gaming machines – in an empty unit in the Rockingham Road shops.

Although no formal application has yet been submitted, members were asked for their opinion on the plan as part of a pre-application consideration by council officers.

Some locals say that the plan is inappropriate for the area, especially during a cost of living crisis.

The unit is owned by North Northamptonshire Council which would become the landlord, as well as the planning and licensing authority that would determine the success of any future application.

Letting the shop could bring in much-needed rental cash for the council as well as income from business rates, and would help ensure the historic parade has a healthy occupancy rate.

But there are already eleven premises in Corby with gambling licences. Some local authorities around the country are choosing to limit gambling premises, including Knowsley in Merseyside, where councillors last week issued guidance putting curbs on betting shops after the borough was revealed to have the highest gambling rates in the country.

Cllr Mark Pengelly said: “This is not an appropriate place for a casino. It should be in the town centre.

"This is a shop owned by NNC and we shouldn’t be allowing it here.

"It’s very close to Pen Green and Rockingham Primary School. Neighbourhood shopping centres should be used for shops and services, not casinos."

There is also a large children’s home within metres of the shops.

The council own Gambling Act Statement of Principles states: “This authority will pay particular attention to the protection of children and vulnerable persons from being harmed or exploited by gambling.”

What do locals think?

The Northants Telegraph went to Rockingham Road to ask local people what they thought.

Bob Kerr has lived in Kelvin Grove, opposite the shops, for many years. He said there has been an increase in crime and disorder in recent years, including a number of stabbings and issues with drugs.

He said: “I’ve never used one of these places and I can’t see that it’s a good place to put one. It’s really not what we need.”

Zain works in Istanbul Barbers on the same parade of shops. He said: “I’m not sure about having a casino here. I don’t think it’s the right place.”

Cora James has two young children. She said: “We have some really good shops here. The last thing people need is any kind of gambling place. I think they exploit people. I don’t even think there’d be many jobs for local people. It would just be taking their money.”

What harms are caused by gambling?

An all-party parliamentary group decided to look at the issues caused by gambling in 2019. They found:

- half the population currently gamble

- people who are classed as ‘problem gamblers’ are disproportionately younger men

- socioeconomic and health inequalities persist among people classed as ‘at-risk’ and ‘problem gamblers’

- a significant proportion of the population (7 per cent) are negatively affected by someone else’s gambling