An application has been submitted again for a gambling arcade at the former butchers on Ballyfermot Road
New planning submitted again for gambling arcade under different name
A new planning application has been submitted for a gambling arcade in the same location in Ballyfermot as the previous highly controversial attempt.
The new application on Ballyfermot Road has been made under a different name but draws similarities to the one withdrawn in October after strong backlash from local councillors and the community.
The proposed development is also a change of use of the existing vacant butcher/deli to a gaming/amusement arcade complex at ground floor level, with installation of signage and all ancillary site development works also included.
Site layout plans included in the latest planning request are the same as those included in October’s withdrawn application and show gaming station locations and areas for coffee, a bathroom and a security desk by the complex entrance.
Ballyfermot-Drimnagh Councillor Daithí Doolan, who was vocal against the last application, has called for a meeting on Monday, November 17 at 7:30pm at the Ballyfermot Civic Centre alongside Aengus Ó Snodaigh TD to discuss the latest update.
Cllr Doolan said about the new application: “Gambling has nothing to offer this community. I have seen gambling bring whole families to their knees.
“Gambling addiction brings nothing but misery and debt to families and their communities.
“We want fresh fruit and food shops, sports outlets and restaurants for Ballyfermot. We have bookies and betting shops here in Ballyfermot. It is time for us to say enough is enough.
Cllr Doolan noted his satisfaction with the unanimous “cross-party” support the movement against the arcade had when the application withdrawal in October occurred.
Cllr Doolan said: “When we unite on issues like this, we preserve the dignity of our office and the city and the people we represent and the communities we work for.
“So, much appreciated because sometimes people are a bit flippant around gambling, and I’ve seen it be so intrinsically linked to other services.”
Councillor Vincent Jackson said in October that he has asked for a retail strategy for years along Ballyfermot Road and has not been able to get anywhere on the issue with the council.
The local councillor also noted that five schools in the village that he chairs were against the arcade.
One of those schools caters to 1150 students and is situated on the same road as the site was.
The former Lord Mayor of Dublin provided a personal anecdote about his brother, who was addicted to gambling.
Cllr Jackson shared: “As a kid, my mother, God be good to her, used to send me over to see could I get him away from the machines.
“He put his wages in, I’d say for nine months, and he wasn’t in a good place mentally and everything else.
“I see the damage at first hand that these machines do. I see what it does within families. It doesn’t do anything. There is no benefit to anybody.”
Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.
