Golders Green Slots Centre Refused 7-0, Against Officers

Barnet councillors have refused plans for an adult gaming centre at 867 Finchley Road in Golders Green, going against the advice of their own planning officers.

The vote at the Planning Committee on 14 October was 7 to 0, with one abstention. The decision is recorded in the draft minutes of the meeting, published this week.

Officers had recommended approval. When the chair put that recommendation to the vote, it was lost by 6 votes to 2.

Why councillors said no

Merkur Slots (UK) Ltd wanted to turn a vacant former betting office on the corner of Finchley Road and Rodborough Road into a gaming centre open from 7am to midnight. The application is 26/2740/FUL, in Childs Hill ward.

After the officers’ recommendation fell, Cllr Ryde moved a motion to refuse. According to the minutes, he did so “on the basis that it would be used as an adult gaming centre”. He also raised concerns about “the public health impact on the surrounding area”. Cllr Khalick seconded it.

That echoes the objections in the officers’ report, which we reported before the meeting:

• 30 objections from the public and none in support
• a formal objection from the council’s own Public Health team, which said the centre “would contribute to an over concentration of gambling premises within Golders Green Town Centre”
• concerns about vulnerable people, with schools, places of worship and mental health services nearby

The risk of an appeal

Officers had warned that refusal would be hard to defend. Their case rested on three points:

• the premises already have a lawful use as a betting office, which could reopen without any new permission
• swapping one gambling use for another, they said, “would not increase the overall number of premises” covered by Local Plan policy TOW03
• planning inspectors allowed similar changes on appeal at 4-6 Cricklewood Lane in August 2025 and at 226 Station Road, Edgware, in December 2024

The applicant can appeal to the Planning Inspectorate. For a refused full planning application, the government’s guidance gives six months from the date of the decision notice. The formal notice sets out the refusal reasons in planning terms, and those are what an inspector would test.

The gambling harms motion

Six days after the vote, Full Council met on 20 October with an administration motion from Cllr Alison Moore on its agenda, asking the council to declare a gambling harms emergency. The motion argues that “where residents and councils do not want additional gambling premises, they should have the power to say no”.

The council has not yet published the minutes of that meeting, so we cannot yet say whether the motion was carried. We will add the result when it appears.

The rest of the committee’s decisions

The same meeting decided five other applications:

Hotel Unique is the scheme to add 114 rooms behind the Refectory pub, taking the hotel to 130 rooms. Ward councillor Adam Gheasuddin spoke against it. Our earlier report sets out what was approved.

View Lodge will be demolished and replaced with six flats and a house, a smaller version of a scheme refused in November 2025.

Langley House was the second time the committee went against officers. They had recommended refusing a nursery’s plan to turn part of an office car park into an outdoor play area, citing noise and the loss of eight parking spaces. Councillors voted 7 to 0 against refusal. The minutes record Cllr Gordon’s view that “the benefits of the usage of the amenity for children attending the nursery outweigh the impact on local residents”. The committee then voted 7 to 0 to defer the application to its next meeting for a decision.

High Barnet station flats

Members also added a late item on High Barnet Place, the 283-home scheme on the station car park. Barnet’s Strategic Planning Committee refused it in December 2025. The Deputy Mayor of London took over the application and granted permission on 27 May 2026, subject to a Section 106 agreement.

The council has to sign that agreement for the permission to be issued. On 7 October, the Executive Director of Growth authorised officers to negotiate and sign it. The report says the agreement includes:

• 40% affordable housing by habitable room
• a carbon offsetting payment of £180,763
• employment, skills and apprenticeship commitments for Barnet residents
• public realm and interchange improvements around High Barnet Underground station

The report warns that refusing to sign “could expose the Council to legal and reputational risk”. Committee members noted the decision. Conservative councillors abstained, maintaining their opposition to the Mayor’s intervention.

What it means for you

• If you objected to the gaming centre: the refusal stands unless the applicant wins an appeal. Any appeal is listed on the Planning Inspectorate’s appeals casework portal, and we will report one if it is lodged.
• Near Langley House: no decision has been made yet. The application returns to the next Planning Committee, and the agenda is published about a week before.
• High Barnet: the permission is the Mayor’s, not the council’s, so there is no further local vote on it.

Our planning applications page explains how to track any Barnet application and comment on it.