A new law written to stop gambling venues clustering on high streets like Putney’s has arrived too late to help. Next month, councillors decide whether a third gambling venue can open on one small stretch of the High Street.
Approve it, and one block becomes a gambling corner: Paddy Power at 134, Merkur Slots at 152, and Admiral, the operator that wants the former Lost Society bar at 160-162, opposite the station. Three gambling venues within about 90 metres of each other.
The new law would let a council refuse exactly this kind of cluster. But it is not yet in force, so on Thursday 9 July the committee must apply the old rule, the one that tells it to lean towards yes.
Under the Gambling Act 2005, the council is required to approve any application that clears three narrow tests, on crime, fair gambling and protecting the vulnerable. Whether an area already has enough gambling is not, in itself, a reason it can use to say no, as we set out in February.
That is what changed this spring. The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act gave councils a new tool, the gambling impact assessment, borrowed from the way they already curb clusters of pubs and bars. A council can study an area, weigh how much gambling it already carries, and set a presumption against new venues in its own policy.
It is not a ban, and each case is still judged on its merits, but it lets a council act on the very thing the old rule tells it to ignore. The catch is timing. The House of Commons Library notes that national guidance is still being written, and a council must adopt its own assessment before it can use the power. Neither will be ready by 9 July.
That leaves the objectors a single ground the old rule still allows: location. The site sits close to Putney Library, and protecting children and vulnerable people from gambling is one of the three tests the council can weigh. A Merkur Slots arcade already trades a few doors down, at 152.
Widespread opposition
The opposition is close to total. Fleur Anderson, the Putney MP, has objected, along with Thamesfield’s ward councillors and the Putney Society, on top of the 624 residents who objected when the plan first came round. The council granted planning permission in December 2024 on the chair’s casting vote, and the gambling licence application followed.
The hearing is on Thursday 9 July at 7pm. Objectors have 20 minutes in total to make their case, after which the councillors can ask questions. Only those who objected during the consultation can speak, and that window has closed. If you were one of the 624 and want to take part, email the licensing team at Licensing@merton.gov.uk before the hearing.
