This petition is part of a campaign by Islington Councillors, Sara Hyde, Una O'Halloran and Paul Convery who represent Caledonian Ward.

We object to the over-concentration of gambling venues on Caledonian Road and object to any further gambling establishments on Caledonian Road. The law needs changing so Islington Council can better control these venues.

In Cally, the last 3 planning applications for gambling venues were all REFUSED by the Council. But the betting companies got those decisions over-turned on appeal by an Inspector appointed by previous Governments.

These gambling venues damage other local businesses and undermine efforts to make Cally an attractive High Street for everyone and cause additional harms for residents at risk of gambling addiction.

The reason we have concentrations of gambling shops is because the Gambling Act has an "aim-to-permit" clause which makes it very hard for any Council to resist new gambling license applications.

Planning legislation also needs to be strengthened. In Cally, the last 3 planning applications for gambling venues were all refused by the Council. But, in all 3 cases, the applicants appealed to an Inspector appointed by the last Government and that Inspector over-ruled Islington and granted permission.

We ask the Council to work with the Government to stop the spread and over-concentration of gambling venues.

There is local news coverage about how Islington Council seeks more powers to stop the spread of gambling here: https://www.islingtontribune.co.uk/article/we-need-powers-to-halt-spread-of-betting-shops