New application for adult gaming centre in Huntingdon town centre
Julian Makey
New plans have been submitted for an adult gaming centre in Huntingdon. - Credit: Merkur Slots
A proposed adult gaming centre in Huntingdon town centre would “generate high level of footfall” as well as boosting the town’s day and night-time economies, the firm behind the development has said.
Cashino Gaming wants to change the use of the former Carphone Warehouse outlet from retail into a gaming centre - a high-tech version of an amusement arcade.
Cashino, which trades as Merkur Slots, operates around 180 arcade-style venues across the country and has just applied to Huntingdonshire District Council to make the change.
In December, it applied to the council for a bingo premises licence to enable it to operate at the shop, which is in a prime location in the town centre. The unit has been empty since last March when Carphone Warehouse closed its shops.
In its application planners for Cashino said: “The proposed unit will generate high levels of footfall and propensity for linked trips. The proposed use will serve the daytime and night-time economy and will create job opportunities for the area.”
It said: “The public benefit will outweigh any perceived impact on the setting and or significance of the building, aiding the futureproof whilst providing a sense of safeguarding for the Huntingdon Conservation area.”
The firm’s planners told the council: “This application represents an excellent opportunity to ensure this vacant unit in Huntingdon town centre is brought back into economic use and once again plays a positive role within the local community of Huntingdon.”
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When it made the bingo licence application, Merkur told the Hunts Post it would create around a dozen full and part-time jobs if it was given the go-ahead for the gaming centre.
It planned to spend up to £200,000 on converting the building which would have a “very modern” feel and would be different to a book-makers, the type of building the centres were compared to.
The firm said it offered low-stake gaming machines which can be played for 10p-£2 a spin, with prizes of £5-£500 on offer, and that electronic bingo tablets can be connected to other venues to give higher jackpots.
Merkur Slots comes under the umbrella of Praesepe, a subsidiary of the family run Gauselmann Group, which is based in Germany and operates more than 700 venues across Europe under the Merkur Brand.
