Southend enters casino race

Southend has formally entered the race to become the town hosting the UK's first large-scale regional casino.

With the backing of local and regional stakeholder groups, Southend Borough Council has written to the government's Casino Advisory Panel to register its interest in having the first of a new breed of Las Vegas-style casinos in the Essex seaside resort.

Renaissance Southend, the local urban regeneration company is backing the proposals and has argued that a regional casino would leverage up to £150m of new private sector investment, which could include a major conference centre, and four-star hotel facilities.

Councillor Anna Waite, leader of the council has stressed: "We are an experienced casino town and we will work with local stakeholder groups and the local community to ensure that any proposals specific to Southend are assessed carefully and responsibly."

She added: "No decisions have been made yet on where any regional casino in Southend would be located. No decision on this will be taken behind closed doors."

Meanwhile, government minister Lord Davies of Oldham promised the Upper House (Lords Hansard 24 October GC258) that the advisory panel would prepare and publish the criteria it will use for assessing applications for the 17 new casinos by early 2006.

Roger Milne

28 October 2005