The Stage

Manchester to host UK’s only super-casino

Published Tuesday 30 January 2007 at 17:45 by Alistair Smith

Manchester has been chosen as the preferred site for the UK’s first ever super-casino, beating off challenges from both Blackpool and the Millennium Dome.

Despite being considered by many to be a rank outsider, it was chosen by the Casino Advisory Panel as its recommendation to the Secretary of State for Culture Tessa Jowell.

Chair of the panel Professor Stephen Crow, said: “All the proposals shortlisted for the regional casino presented their own particular and compelling strengths. We were, however, particularly impressed by Manchester’s proposal, which in our view offers great promise. We found that the proposal had a unique formula to offer which served to set it apart from the others presented to us in terms of the full range of our specific remitted criteria of best test of social impact, regeneration need and benefits and willingness to license.

“Manchester represents a good place to test social impact, and the council’s consultations with other local authorities and relevant bodies gave us confidence on that. Manchester has a catchment area for a casino second only to that of London, and it is an area in need of regeneration at least as much as any of the others we observed - indeed, the city has the greatest need in terms of multiple deprivation of all the proposals that were before us.

“We are impressed that the council’s plan has been developed, and is proposed to be taken forward, in close consultation with the communities that would benefit from it, and note in addition that Manchester is one of England’s eight “core cities” which government policy sees as drivers of national and regional economic growth. In our view, the proposal presents the most complete package in terms of meeting our remitted criteria.”

Meanwhile, the panel recommend that the areas in which the eight large casinos should be licensed are Great Yarmouth, Kingston-upon-Hull, Leeds, Middlesbrough, Milton Keynes, Newham, Solihull and Southampton. Proposals for small casinos in Bath and North East Somerset, Dumfries and Galloway, East Lindsey, Luton, Scarborough, Swansea, Torbay and Wolverhampton were also given approval.

• See this week’s print edition of The Stage for full coverage.