Councillors who reluctantly granted planning permission for an adult gaming centre in Crewe are hoping the licensing application will be refused.

Cheshire East's southern planning committee spent nearly an hour on Wednesday (October 21), trying to come up with a robust planning reason to refuse the application to turn a vacant shop on Edleston Road in Crewe into a gambling venue.

Crewe and Nantwich MP Connor Naismith (Labour), had written to planning officers listing numerous reasons why he felt the proposal should be refused.

Mr Naismith said 43 per cent of Cheshire East's gambling premises were in Crewe and this latest proposal was very close to the Dome Youth Zone.

He also said scheme fails to support the social and cultural well-being required by the national planning policy framework, it contradicts high street recovery, will not generate footfall and is out of character with the application building.

Committee members agreed with the MP's statements.

But, planning officer Daniel Evans stressed they could only refuse the application for valid planning reasons and any reason relating to potential harm from gambling would be a matter for licensing.

Crewe West councillor Ben Wye (Labour), said he was aware of two other gaming centres close to these premises.

Mr Evans said: "We've got no policies about concentration of adult gaming centres in a town centre…

"If it was within the principal shopping area, I should say then we would have some control over the loss of a retail unit, but we're not there, we're in the town centre boundary.

"We're outside the shopping area, so that's where the issue arises."

Councillors raised the matter of inadequate parking, which had been raised as one of the concerns by Crewe South councillor Dawn Clark (Labour), who had called the application in to the committee.

Mr Evans said there was adequate parking in the town centre.

Cllr Linda Buchanan (Shavington, Labour), said the committee had recently passed an application to convert Breeden House in Crewe into about 100 apartments and she was concerned this gambling premises would be opposite it.

Cllr Martin Edwards (Crewe, Labour), said Dome Youth Zone, which opens soon, is the most positive thing he'd seen in Crewe since becoming a councillor.

He said the gambling centre would be a stone's throw from it and 'it's just giving the wrong impression'.

Eventually, after much more debate which still resulted in failure to find a robust planning reason to refuse the application, acting committee chair Janet Clowes (Wybunbury, Conservative), moved the application be approved and this was seconded by Brereton councillor John Wray (Con).

Three councillors voted in favour and three abstained.

The premises needs a gambling licence before it can open and, at the end of the meeting, Cllr Clowes said to councillors: "Can I please ask you all, particularly if it's in your area, to attend the licensing committee."

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