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Against the odds, Deptford beats the bookies

It would have been the eighth bookmaker in the high street and the 11th in Deptford.
But in a rare outbreak of sanity in a London Borough Planning office, the nice people in Lewisham Town Hall turned Betfred’s application down at the end of March.
There had been widespread opposition and even hostility in Deptford to the opening of another bookie office and local people have campaigned vigorously against Betfred's application to have planning use altered from building society only to include betting shops in a vacant high street premises.
Because of the way the 2005 Gambling Act is worded,  campaigners were unable to influence the decision to grant the Gambling License with their online petition opposing both the granting of a Gambling License and Planning Permission at 93-95 Deptford High Street.
However, according to the blog, Crosswhatfields, the chief of planning in Lewisham refused permission without the need to take the matter to Committee. It is understood that the Planning department's decision was influenced by the 79 written objections and the local petition (comprising of both paper and online petitions).
This may not be an end to the matter however. Betfred is quoted as saying:"We are very disappointed and we are currently reviewing our options." One of these would be to appeal to the government's Planning Inspectorate.
For more on this story, click here
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