Yarmouth casino in jeopardy


28 March 2007 21:37

The regeneration of Great Yarmouth could be in jeopardy after the House of Lords scuppered the town's casino plans.

The Lords voted down the Government's scheme for a super casino in Manchester and 16 smaller casinos, including one in Yarmouth, last night by a majority of just three votes.

The blow came only a short while after the proposals scraped through the commons by 24 votes.

The defeat means all the casino projects will now be shelved while the government reflects on what to do,

Yarmouth's long awaited casino had been a key to plans to revitalise the seaside town, along with the development of the outer harbour and riverside.

Barry Coleman, leader of Great Yarmouth Borough Council, today warned those plans could now be in jeopardy.

He said: “This was a key part of the regeneration strategy we had been working on.

“We have been working hard over the last few years plan how to revive Yarmouth and the casino was going to be integral to that.

“A lot of this has now been put in jeopardy and it means we will have to consider what we can put on the sea front.”

Mr Coleman said that all those concerned with the casino bid had been lobbying hard in parliament over the last few days and the issue of a super casino in Manchester should have been separated out from the issue of the 16 smaller casinos.

He added: “The whole thing is an almighty mess on the part of the government. It has been mishandled all the way along.”

Yarmouth MP Tony Wright said he was disappointed and concerned about the delay that would now occur but said it was encouraging that the House of Commons had backed the plans.

In the Commons vote local Labour MPs Charles Clarke, Ian Gibson and Bob Blizzard all backed the casino plans Norfolk's Tory and Liberal Democrat members opposed them.

If built Yarmouth's casino would be 1.500sq m in size and feature around 150 gambling machines capable of dishing out a jackpot of £4,000.

It is expected it would attract around 10,000 visitors a week and transform the town in to an all year round resort with economic benefits for the whole region.

Despite the setback Albert Jones, who operates Yarmouth's Pleasure Beach and is one of those bidding to run the casino, is confident the project will still go ahead.

He said: “This is just a blip and I am hopeful that in the next six to eight weeks it will all be back on track. All is not lost yet.”

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