New delay over £6m casino bid
A £6 million casino that will create 120 new jobs has been hit by more delays as a legal challenge launched by a rival company continues to rage on.
The Rank Group, which is the parent company of Grosvenor Casinos, wants a casino licence transferred from an existing site in Oldbury to a new development near to the M5.
The venue would form part of a larger £15m development near to the northbound slip road from junction two of the motorway for Birchley Island and Wolverhampton Road.
Plans to transfer the licence have been delayed after rival casino operator Clockfair Ltd mounted a legal challenge objecting to the plan.
Sandwell Council's licensing panel was due to make a final decision next week with a two-day meeting scheduled so all issues could be discussed.
But councillors today said this had now been postponed after Clockfair submitted an appeal against a previous ruling by the authority.
The appeal will be heard by Sandwell Magistrates Court in April and any further discussion now has to wait until the result of the hearing is known.
The Rank Group was granted a casino licence for the site in Halesowen Street, Oldbury, in 2008 – with the council later giving permission to transfer the licence.
After the legal challenge was issued, a High Court judge ruled the licence should not have been issued and the council should reconsider an application to revoke it.
But in November, licensing bosses decided the licence was valid and should remain in place.
Clockfair has launched the legal appeal against this decision.
Licensing committee chairman Councillor Peter Allen said: "There was simply no point in staging the meeting until the outcome of the appeal is known."
