Plans for nine new pokie machines that will be part of a proposed TAB in Nelson are not going down well with local organisations, who are worried about the impact it will have on nearby neighbourhoods.
Nelson City Council have received an application from the New Zealand Racing Board for the establishment of an alcohol-free TAB on Vanguard St, which is part of the site currently occupied by United Video. The video rental store is moving to a new site in Whakatu Square in early May.
If approved, it will bring the number of pokie machines in Nelson to 213. There is currently a cap of 273 machines in the city.
The council’s group manager of community services, Chris Ward, says resource consent was granted to Elbee Investments Ltd for the existing United Video building to be demolished and replaced with a new building, back in February.
Providing the NZRB meets the criteria of the Gambling Policy 2013, he says the council “will have no reason to decline the application”.
But several community organisations are questioning the location of the venue, and the impact it will have on the Victory and Washington Valley areas.
Matthew McMillan, from Nelson Problem Gambling Services, says the proposed TAB is “not a positive thing” for Nelson. “We know that pokies and TAB’s tend to be located in the poorer areas, and that one risk factor for problem gambling is how closely you are located to a gambling venue,” he says.
With 18 pokies already in operation at the nearby Postboy Hotel, it would bring the total number of machines at the Gloucester/Vanguard intersection to 27.
He is also concerned that the other part of the premises could become a liquor outlet, with even more pokie machines.
“If this is the case we will have a ‘gambling den’ with a TAB,” he says.
The current Gambling Policy states that a new TAB venue must not being within 100 metres of any playground, kindergarten, early childhood centre, school, place of worship, or an ATM. Matthew says staff at Problem Gambling Services have measured the distance from the United Video store to an ATM at the nearby New World supermarket at 92m.
Kindra Douglas from the Victory Community Centre says pokies in the area are a “real bone of contention” with her.
“It’s disappointing,” she says. “But there is nothing we can do to stop it if they meet all the criteria.”
A spokesperson from the council says that a decision on the application may be made later this month.
