There has been a recently released report that confirms that the 24 hour a day casino being planned for Bournemouth town center is being recommended to be approved. Officers have begun pushing for the Asper Casino that will be put in two units within the BH2 development that is located on Exeter Road to be given a gold stamp to be approved, however this comes with one condition. The casino operator is to provide £16,000 that will be put towards new CCTV.
Within the report it does state that creating new casinos and other types of family centered entertainment facilities is not uncommon, but there does need to be some level of caution whenever these types of establishments get built. Officers of the report believe that the building will hold enough discreetness and will be somewhat isolated so that it doesn’t become any sort of problem, and is going to be a good addition to the neighborhood that will help support other leisure venues in the area. It’s in a prime area to bring in more tourism and outside attraction.
The casino is not the only building that is being considered for the property space. There have been various other types of facilities, including many restaurant proposals such as Joe’s Kitchen and Las Iguanas.
Both David Smith and Bob Chapman are councilors that have been opposed to the new casino plans and have been open about their objections. In a letter that they have submitted they wrote that this was a big change from the original catering and cinema venue that had been approved, and that there had been no mention of any sort of gambling facility with this proposal. It was referenced as a “family friendly entertainment center”, which some would argue that a casino doesn’t fit this bill. Another concern they raised involved the late night operations of the casino, being a 24 hour establishment, that might upset residents of the area that will be trying to sleep but might have to deal with the loud noises and lights emanating from the casino.
They are not the only ones that have submitted objections to the plans. Another objection was submitted by the Bournemouth Civic Society, and there were also two letters attached with that objection to support it. However, the supportive letters came from two other businesses that are making proposals for the property, and so they don’t hold a whole lot of value since there is a clear reason as to why they might not like the plan for a casino instead.
There has been no mention as to whether or not the plans for the casino are actually going to be approved. There are good reasons to support the new venue and good reasons to deny it, so the decision could really go either way even though it has received a recommendation for approval. It would be a two story casino that would be opened at all hours for 364 days out of the year. It’s planning on featuring slots and other electronic games, live music, and even an included VIP area.