I really hope it is. I’ve posted before about there being too many betting shops on our high street but I think it’s a really important issue for the future of high streets. I’m certainly not arguing for all betting shops to be closed but it just feels that people are being exploited, especially by Fixed Odds Betting Terminals. It’s getting these FOBTs in to as many high street sites as possible that’s been driving the ever-increasing number of betting shops in high streets. The government plans to give local authorities powers to restrict the number of betting shops. I’ll believe it when I see it but a long overdue step in my opinion. How effective it will be also depends on the willingness of the local authority to use any future legislation. Surely we already have more than enough betting shops for our local population?
I thought a good starting point is to go out and count the number of betting shops and loan shops along the Uxbridge Road in West Ealing to give a base line so someone can count again in a few years time and see what’s happened. As of today I counted six betting shops ( seven when BetFred opens on the ground floor of the new hotel being built in Melbourne Ave), two gaming/fruit machine establishments and five loanshops/pawnbrokers:
Betting Shops
- Ladbrokes
- Coral x 2
- William Hill x2
- Paddy Power
Gaming shops
- Cashino
- Reels
Loan shops/pawnbrokers
- Cash Converters
- Money Shop
- Cash Generator
- H&T Pawnbrokers
- Albemarle & Bond pawnbrokers
One could get quite philosophical on this subject. Do we want a totally prescriptive planning system whereby, for example, any high street could have just one butcher, baker, betting shop, cheese shop, pub, off-licence etc or do we go the Darwinian approach (survival of the fittest) or even the Adam Smith route ( dynamic competition secures the ‘wealth of nations’). Or do we want so half way compromise between the two extremes?