The Tamil Business Forum based in Croydon, a large town in South London, have protested against plans to open a new betting shop in the town, over growing concerns of the impact gambling has had on the area.
|
Picture courtesy of Croydon Guardian |
The protests come as figures revealed that more than £160 million were spent on betting machines in Croydon North in 2012 alone, an area with a constituency of just over 85,000 people.
Ganapathy Kasinathan of the London Road Business Association told the Croydon Guardian,
“This is a poor area and having another shop targets people already desperate for money.
“There is another Paddy Power just a few minutes walk away in North End, so there is no need for another. We want to regenerate this area and these types of shop do not help.”
Patrick Ratnaraja, director of Croydon Tamil Business Forum also said,
“London Road has already been affected by high levels of crime and opening another betting shop will just lead to more.
Councillor Tony Pearson, who sits on the Licensing Sub-Committee, said: "We understood the concerns of residents and Councillor Collins and they spoke very eloquently but there were no grounds to reject the application.