Games arcade approved for Preston will be second in 200 yards

Two new adult games arcades are set to open within 200 yards of each other in Preston city centre after a second outlet was given the go-ahead in the space of three months. Preston City Council planning officers have granted permission for the latest venture, on Orchard Street, in a former bookies shop.

The Noble Corp-run gaming centre will join a similar facility which was given the green light just around the corner on Friargate – in the vacant Krush Sports Bar and Nightclub building – in February. The pair will compete with the long-established Admiral Casino – also on Orchard Street – which operates around the clock, as will its new neighbour.

A public consultation into the Friargate outlet had generated concern about the impact a cluster of adult games facilities could have on “vulnerable people” – one which was ultimately dismissed on the basis that fears over the effects of gambling are not material planning considerations and so cannot be taken into account. However, no such issues – nor any objections at all – were received in relation to the Noble development.

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Planning officer Vanessa Cartwright-Bremner concluded that the proposal was “acceptable and would not have any unacceptable adverse impacts” on local residents or the visual appearance of the area. In a report outlining the reasons for her decision, she added that the business would “bring a vacant unit back into use” and improve the daytime street scene.

It was not considered that the plans would exacerbate any existing noise levels – including from the nearby Switch nightclub and Market Tavern pub – to “an unacceptable degree”, because the arcade was not assessed as being an attraction that would draw “big crowds”. The gaming centre will be located in the city’s Market Place Conservation Area, but was not deemed that it would have a “detrimental impact” on that area – nor on the Grade II-listed Black Horse pub and market canopy within it.

Late last year, another games arcade was given the green light, little more than a quarter of a mile away – at the junction of Fishergate and Lune Street – in a former carpet shop and one-time building society.