Karen Lumley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karen Lumley on 2014-04-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to ensure that betting shops are not placed in the same planning use class as cafes, banks and public houses.

Nick Boles

Yes.

Betting shops are currently in the A2 (“financial and professional services”) use class. The Budget announced that we will consult on introducing a wider ‘retail’ use class; I can confirm that this would not include betting shops or payday loan shops.

Moreover, to increase access to retail banking and to encourage new entrants, we have already recently amended secondary legislation such that shops (A1) are now able to change to banks, building societies, credit unions and friendly societies, within the A2 use class. This does not cover betting shops or payday loan shops.