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UK – Bournemouth councillors vote to wait on Aspers proposal

By Phil - 28 November 2016

Local councillors in Bournemouth have voted to defer a decision on whether planning permission will be granted to an application made by BH2 developers Licet Holdings and Legal & General and casino operator Aspers.

The project has caused some controversy by adding a casino to its mix despite the fact that Aspers has secured a licence to operate in the seaside town nine years ago.

Aspers’ COO Richard Noble said Aspers had now found ‘the right mix of operators to complement our operation.’

Councillor Bob Chapman said: “My question to developers is why was a casino not mentioned in the original uses. We already have two in the town, I’m not sure we need a third. I am sure if we had known that a casino was going to be part of the this development we would have had a different view on whether or not we wanted this scheme to go ahead. We are not policing what people do with their time”
He added that he was not against a casino in principal and said Aspers’ Casinos seemed to be ‘very well run premises.’

Councillor David Kelsey added: “When it first came to the planning board we were told it was a family entertainment centre, restaurants etc. Now the developers can’t make their own minds up what they want, they are now saying they want a restaurant or they might want a casino. Residents in this town expect us to make decisions knowing what is going to be there.”