Work on the latest Super Casino has started at the NEC in Birmingham, despite concerns from local residents. The £150 million, seven storey super casino will also house a 170 bed hotel, a 45 unit designer shopping centre, an 11 screen cinema, restaurants and a conference centre, and will be jointly operated by the NEC and Genting Casino UK, part of the Malaysian Genting Group.
However, despite estimates that the new complex will create 1,100 hospitality jobs and 1,700 temporary construction jobs, residents in the Birmingham area are concerned about the impact such a gambling mecca will have on its local neighbourhoods. Claims that it will create more gambling problems in the local area are rife amongst residents, despite counter arguments from the company, who claim the “island nature” of the site will minimalize such risks.
Instead, Genting Casino and the company behind this super casino, which is due to open in 2015, are focusing on the economics. They claim the development – of which the casino makes up just 11% - will bring £58 million into the region during building, then £25 million annually, which will go directly into the Solihull area. Plus of course, there is the matter of the creation of 1,100 new jobs to an area actively seeking economic investment via regeneration (highlighted by the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership).
The Super Casinos, which were specifically recommended for construction in certain areas around the UK by the Casino Advisory Panel (including Leeds, Great Yarmouth, Kingston Upon Hull, Middlesborough, Milton Keynes and Southampton), share several main purposes, with their main aim being to attract visitors to these areas which struggle to bring in tourists, which in turn will help stimulate the economic growth of each area. As for the second purpose, Paul Thandi, chief executive of the NEC, has summed it up perfectly – “Gambling brings tax.”
No comments:
Post a Comment