Plan for betting shop on Broadway, Bradford is refused

Bradford Council has just refused a planning application to convert a vacant bar on Broadway into Bradford’s first branch of Jenningsbet.

If approved, the business would have joined the four existing betting shops on that side of the street – in the heart of the city centre and central to a major public realm scheme.

It would leave Subway as the only non-gambling business in that area.

But planning officers referenced concerns raised by public health officers that the increasing number of betting shops could harm people at risk of gambling addictions.

Refusing the application this week, officers said the business would “impede on people's abilities to make healthy and informed decisions". 

Officers also feared another betting shop would further erode the viability of what should be a prime shopping street, effectively making it a gambling quarter of the city centre.

Jenningsbet had applied for permission to convert the former Bronx Bar into a betting shop earlier this summer.

They also applied for a licence that would allow the business to open for gambling from 7am to 10pm.

The company said: “This shop and the location have been specifically identified to meet a need for its prospective customers in this location and Jenningsbet’s overall strategy to expand its operations into the North of England.”

It said the new business would be “an opportunity to avoid a prolonged period of vacancy and to provide economic investment in the unit which will create additional vitality and footfall in the area". 

There is currently a William Hill and Admiral Slots on one side of the empty bar and a Paddy Power and Ladbrokes on the other.

The bar fronts a street that has just been pedestrianised as part of a multi-million-pound scheme to transform parts of the city centre. A stepped plaza that will include seating and planting is being created just in front of the unit.

The empty bar unit on Broadway (Image: T&A)

It is also opposite Britannia House, which includes the city’s Citizen’s Advice centre.

Public health officers had objected to the plans, highlighting that there were a number of people living or frequenting the city centre that were at risk of gambling addiction.

They said: “The proposed betting shop, adding to the numerous existing betting/gambling establishments, would be situated close to services used by many people seeking support for children and families as well as those with issues such as addiction, financial problems, and disabilities.

“Although children are not legally permitted to gamble, advertising and visibility of gambling companies and products in places where children and young people are present can normalise gambling and make it appear appealing.”

Concerns had also been raised that yet another betting shop would harm the vitality of what should be a shopping area.

Conservation officers had pointed out that Broadway was part of the Bradford City Centre Conservation Area, and although the business was in a modern building it was a street that had traditionally been used for shopping.

She said: “The vibrancy of the conservation area derives from having a wide range of commercial, retail, and leisure facilities. Dedicating a small area to one particular use alters this dynamic and can be harmful to the locality.”

Refusing the application, planners said: “The increased exposure to gambling as a result of this change of use, given the high concentration of similar uses, could impede on people's abilities to make healthy and informed decisions, exacerbating the concern in this area that the increased access and availability of gambling-related uses, in combination with the area's high deprivation rates, is significantly and disproportionately harming the health of its residents and not supporting a healthy or vibrant community in this location.”

Referring to the impact on the city centre, officers added: “The vitality and viability of an area largely stems from having a diverse array of uses, whereas the proposed use of the site as a betting shop would result in a large concentration of gambling establishments in a small area. This would undermine the location's core use as a primary shopping area.

“The impact of another gambling establishment in this area, where there is already an overconcentration of such use, would be unsustainable, and removes opportunities for the area to adapt within its primary retail function.

“While it could be argued that there may be some short-term economic benefit as a result on occupying a vacant unit and providing employment, figures provided by the Public Health team show that the resultant harm of gambling cost England's economy £1.27 billion between 2019 and 2020."

The Telegraph & Argus has contacted Jenningsbet for a response to the refusal.