Wolverhampton casino plans approved
Long-awaited plans for a casino in Wolverhampton, creating hundreds of jobs, have finally been approved as councillors agreed to launch the formal application procedure.
Long-awaited plans for a casino in Wolverhampton, creating hundreds of jobs, have finally been approved as councillors agreed to launch the formal application procedure.
Wolverhampton Racecourse today confirmed it was still intending to apply to open the country's first ever "racino" which could create 280 jobs.
Wolverhampton City Council has had the power to offer a casino licence with cash prizes up to £4,000 since 2008 but the project has been mired in red tape.
The former Labour government gave permission for 16 new casinos nationally and the one in Wolverhampton will be allowed to have 80 slot machines. Originally, five operators were interested but Arena Leisure, which owns the racecourse, was the only one to respond.
The formal application process will begin in August and was approved at a meeting of the full council last night.
Leader of the council Roger Lawrence said: "Jobs and the regeneration benefits are part of the criteria in the application process. They are part of what we have to balance in making a decision.
"These sorts of ventures create jobs and if we look at one that has opened in Newham in London, they can have a positive regenerative impact. It has taken a long time to get to this stage because the guidance was slow in coming to us. We had to make sure we avoided any legal challenges."
Kate Hills, spokesman for Arena Leisure, said: "We will be putting in our application and we are keen to progress it."
The newly-refurbished Low Level Station was originally in the frame for a £6 million casino but will instead be a banqueting hall.
Last year Arena Leisure was given another three years to build a £23m extension at the racecourse as it continued to wait for the casino licence to be signed off.
The firm was taken over in January by the billionaire Reuben brothers in a £167m deal. In 2010, council bosses approved plans to spend £100,000 of taxpayers' cash on deciding who would get to run the casino.
The city council needed to review its gambling policy before it could take advantage of the right to allow a casino to open up in the area.
Five companies were originally interested in opening a casino in the city, including Wolverhampton Racecourse which was eventually chosen as the preferred option.
Bosses had originally hoped the new casino would open in 2009.
The casino would be allowed 80 slot machines and prizes of up to £4,000.
