Merkur Slots on Finchley Road and Palace Amusements on Edgware's Station Road face Barnet licensing hearings on 3 November after Public Health objected.
Two planned gaming arcades, one in Golders Green and one in Edgware, will be decided by Barnet councillors at licensing hearings on Tuesday 3 November.
Both applications drew a formal objection from the council’s own Public Health team. That is why they go to a hearing instead of being granted by officers.
The two cases are listed on separate Licensing Sub-Committee agendas for the same day, both in the Civic Room at Hendon Town Hall. The council has not yet published the start times.
867 Finchley Road, Golders Green
Merkur Slots UK wants an adult gaming centre licence for 867 Finchley Road, NW11, in Childs Hill ward. The officers’ report for the hearing says the previous occupier held a betting premises licence there and has surrendered it.
This is the same corner unit that councillors refused planning permission for on 14 October, by 7 votes to 0 and against officers’ advice. Planning and licensing are separate regimes, so the licence is decided on its own merits. A licence on its own would not let the arcade open without the planning permission it needs, and Merkur can still appeal the planning refusal.
Public Health’s objection, dated 19 August, says the application would mean two Merkur gaming centres within 863 metres of each other. Merkur already runs one at 48 Golders Green Road. Public Health says the area “already contains one of Barnet’s highest concentrations of gambling premises”.
Merkur’s own risk assessment lists the gambling premises nearby:
- Merkur Slots, 48 Golders Green Road
- Betfred, 889 Finchley Road
- Paddy Power, 634 Finchley Road
- Paddy Power, 53 Golders Green Road
- Ladbrokes, 31 Golders Green Road
- Coral, 28 Golders Green Road
The Metropolitan Police did not object. Emails in the report show the force’s licensing officer agreed conditions with the applicant’s agent in July and said police would “support your application” if those conditions went on the licence. They include CCTV, a refusals log and Challenge 25 age checks.
226 Station Road, Edgware
East Kent Leasing Limited wants a licence for an adult gaming centre called Palace Amusements at 226 Station Road, HA8, in Edgware ward. We reported the application in September, when no one had yet objected.
By the time consultation closed, the council had received two valid representations. One came from Public Health and one from a local resident.
Planning is not in doubt here. A planning inspector allowed the arcade on appeal on 10 December 2024. The applicant’s risk assessment quotes the appeal conditions: opening from 7am to 2am Monday to Saturday, and from 8am to 2am on Sundays and bank holidays.
The applicant’s own assessment puts four betting shops and arcades within 180 yards of the site, all on Station Road. Public Health argues that an arcade changes the “nature, intensity and accessibility of gambling” because it relies on “continuous machine-based play”.
The resident’s letter says there are already three betting shops on that stretch of the high street. It argues that another gambling premises would work against Edgware’s regeneration and make the street feel less safe for families.
East Kent Leasing has offered the same conditions Barnet attached to licences it already granted the company. Its letter says those were for arcades at 4-6 North End Road, Golders Green, and 686 High Road, North Finchley.
What Public Health says about Barnet
The Golders Green objection sets out these borough figures:
- about 18,000 adults in Barnet, 6.8% of the adult population, are estimated to be moderate-risk or high-risk gamblers, from Office for Health Improvement and Disparities estimates
- the National Gambling Clinic received 16 referrals from Barnet residents in 2024, placing Barnet joint fourth among London boroughs
- 67% of Barnet’s high-risk gamblers report needing support, against 57% nationally
The Edgware objection adds two estimates. About 1,947 Barnet residents may be problem gamblers, applying national rates to the borough’s population. Gambling harm costs Barnet’s public services about £7 million a year.
What the councillors can do
The law gives the sub-committee little room. Under section 153 of the Gambling Act 2005, a licensing authority must “aim to permit” gambling premises. That holds as long as an application is consistent with the Gambling Commission’s codes and guidance, the three licensing objectives and the council’s own statement of principles. Demand for another arcade, or dislike of gambling, is not a lawful reason to refuse.
The sub-committee can grant a licence, add conditions, or reject it. Opening hours are not one of the things it can restrict. The Merkur report notes that hours “are not restricted under the Gambling act 2005”. Either side can appeal to the magistrates’ court within 21 days of the decision.
The hearings come two weeks after Full Council met on 20 October with an administration motion from Cllr Alison Moore on its agenda. It asked the council to declare a gambling harms emergency and to urge the government to set a start date for Gambling Impact Assessments. The motion says councils want the “aim to permit” duty removed. The council has not yet published the minutes of that meeting, so we cannot yet report whether the motion was carried.
What it means for you
- You can watch. Licensing hearings are held in public. The sub-committee hears from the applicant and the objectors, then goes into private session to decide, and announces its decision in public. The Golders Green agenda and the Edgware agenda will show the times once set.
- It is too late to object. Representations had to be made during each application’s consultation period, and both have closed.
- We will report both decisions after the hearings.
Our planning applications page explains how to follow applications like these from the start.
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