Fleur Anderson Says New Policy Could Have Stopped Gambling Shop

MP claims reforms will help revitalise the High Street

'Aim to Approve' had made it difficult stop a cluster of gaming venues in the centre of Putney

August 17, 2026

Putney MP Fleur Anderson has said Labour’s new high-street reforms would give local communities the power they have previously been denied, after Wandsworth Council approved a 24-hour gambling shop on Putney High Street despite widespread concern for vulnerable people.

Wandsworth Council had been hamstrung by the previous policy which but more onus on local authorities to approved applications even for businesses that residents considered undesirable for the area.

The Putney MP has welcomed sweeping changes announced by the Labour Government that would overturn the system which allowed the venue to proceed. Under the reforms, ministers intend to scrap the Gambling Act’s “Aim to Permit” rule—an outdated provision that makes it extremely difficult for councils to refuse gambling applications even when local opposition is overwhelming.

Labour says that it intends to “put local people and councils back in control of their high streets” and make it easier to reject new betting and 24-hour slot-machine shops where there are strong concerns. It notes that the changes “could make a real difference to high streets such as Putney”, where residents have repeatedly voiced alarm about the concentration of gambling venues.

Luxury Leisure, trading as Admiral, was recently granted a licence to open a round-the-clock adult gaming centre opposite Putney Station, in an area that already contains one adult gaming centre and two betting shops within a short stretch. The decision was made on 20 July, even though residents, campaigners and local representatives argued that the location was inappropriate and risked deepening an existing cluster of gambling venues.

At the licensing hearing on 9 July, Ms Anderson told councillors the site was “the wrong location” for a gambling shop, particularly given its visibility to schoolchildren and its position at a major transport interchange. She warned that vulnerable people—including those experiencing addiction, bereavement, mental health crises or financial stress—would be repeatedly confronted with the venue simply by passing through the area.

Her intervention followed months of campaigning against the proposal. A separate planning application for the same site attracted 624 objections before being approved in December 2024, leaving residents feeling powerless under the current national rules.

Ms Anderson said the Putney decision showed exactly why reform was needed. “Time and again, local people here in Putney have told me how gambling shops are blighting our high street,” she said. “The opening of the Admiral betting shop, despite 624 letters of opposition from local residents, showed just how powerless communities can feel when the system is stacked against them.”

She added that Labour’s changes would finally give councils the tools to act when there is strong local opposition: “People who live in our neighbourhoods should have a meaningful say over the future of their high streets, and councils should have the tools to act when there is strong local opposition.”

Prime Minister Andy Burnham echoed the message, saying the Government was “putting communities back in control and giving local people a real say over what opens on their high street”.

Under Labour’s proposals, Adult Gaming Centres would be formally defined as sui generis in planning law—meaning every new venue would require full planning permission, rather than relying on licensing alone. Vape shops would also be removed from Class E and placed in their own category, giving councils the power to restrict their numbers and prevent them opening near schools.

The Government will shortly launch a consultation on the reforms, with the aim of bringing in changes at the start of 2027.

Had these powers already been in place, MsAnderson argues, Wandsworth Council could have refused the Putney application outright—both on planning grounds and on the basis of protecting vulnerable people.

In the meantime, Wandsworth Council has said it will review its policy to strengthen its ability to refuse future applications.