Our picturesque seaside town is becoming Britain’s Las Vegas with 24-hour casino – it’ll bring rowdy punters to our home
FURIOUS residents have slammed plans to turn their seaside town’s last remaining high street bank into a 24-hour casino.
Locals in the picturesque town of Whitby, North Yorkshire, have been fighting back against the proposed conversion of a Halifax branch on its high street into a round-the-clock gambling venue.
The brick-and-mortar premises is set to shut in mid-May, with company Luxury Leisure aiming to replace the site with what it calls an “adult gaming centre”.
Controversy has hung over the scheme, with more than 500 objections being lodged by those enraged locals in the quaint town.
Whitby’s Labour MP Alison Hume has even presented a petition to parliament which urges North Yorkshire Council to bin the plans.
Councillors have now rejected the scheme, doing so at a planning meeting on Thursday, after one local politician warned: “If it’s approved, Whitby will become the Las Vegas of the East Coast.”
Despite this, Luxury Leisure is likely to appeal the decision, especially since it has pledged to invest £500,000 into the project.
Locals told MailOnline how “annoyed” people were at the scheme, saying the casino would attract the “wrong crowd” and ruin Whitby’s character.
Edith Harrison, 84, has lived in the town for 20 years and hopes for more shops to be built instead of a gambling venue.
She said: “This is Whitby – it’s not Las Vegas.”
Alan Landers, 59, runs the butchers Landers of Whitby directly opposite the Halifax branch and thinks it’s the “last thing” the town needs.
He worries the town is “losing its identity” and highlighted the loss of independent shops in the area.
Alan added: “If you want a casino, you can go to any big city – not a little, quaint fishing village.”
James and Julie Richardson also expressed their concerns for the town ahead of Halifax’s branch closure on May 15.
They worry the move is out-of-character for the idyllic town and will ruin the peace of the area.
Both highlighted how the town has become incredibly focused on tourism and those with second homes, forgetting about those who live there day in, day out.
Sam Dryden, 49, who runs an ice cream and souvenir shop K&S Dryden with his 74-year-old dad Ken worries the town is dying but feels a casino won’t help fix things.
Like Edith, he also yearns for more shops on the high street, saying money spent in the casino would deprive the rest of the town of spending.
Despite this, officials have argued that keeping the building in use would benefit the town’s economy and footfall on its high street, even if the loss of the bank is “regrettable”.
A spokesperson for Luxury Leisure defended the proposal, insisting there would be “no noisy amusement arcade equipment which attracts under-18s and has an impact on amenity”.
They also said the company would invest £500,000 into the premises and create a dozen jobs in order to “ensure footfall to the town centre”.
523 objections were made at the planning meeting as opposed to just six in support.
Luxury Leisure has 12 weeks to decide whether it brings an appeal to the decision.