A PLAN to open a slot machine venue in the city centre looks set to be approved later this week.

Cashino Gaming, which runs almost 150 adult gaming centres across the country, put forward plans to open in the building of a former bank in The Cross in Worcester earlier this year.

Worcester City Council's planning committee meets on Thursday (June 24) to decide whether to allow the venue to open with a recommendation from council officers that it is given the go-ahead.

The arcade would be filled with slot and fruit machines as well as tablets for online bingo.

The new adult gaming centre would create six new jobs, Cashino said, with the proposed opening hours still under discussion.

The venue was already given a 24-hour licence in March by the city council but says it will likely close at 2am at weekends and midnight during the week.

The plan will be discussed by the planning committee at the request of ward councillor Lynn Denham who raised questions over the need for a new gaming centr and whether it will have a positive impact on the regeneration of the city centre.

A report, which will be discussed by councillors, said: "On balance, the submitted scheme has indicated sufficientdetail to warrant approval and the safeguards proposed are sufficient, along with the reduced hours, to provide an active use in the unit.

"There is the potential that a less appropriate use could occupy the site which would not provide the economic benefits but add to the negative aspects of the site such as noise or anti-social behaviour."

In response to a planning application for the new adult gaming centre, West Mercia Police had said it did not object to the plan but would like to have seen 9am to midnight opening hours enforced for at least a year to show it could stay open without any trouble.

A plan by KFC to open a takeaway restaurant was rejected by the council in 2018 over fears it would add to crime and disorder in the area.

Philip Kolvin, who spoke on behalf of Cashino at the licensing hearing in March, said there was nothing to suggest that the business would cause any disorder.

“As I have said, the numbers are low, alcohol is not involved, loitering doesn’t happen, monitoring by CCTV takes place and everything is overseen through staff,” he said.

“I can say categorically that the premises will not be a source of street order and rather to the contrary, the premises with a first-class CCTV system on the exterior that will be monitored by trained staff, who will be in touch with local police if needs be, will be protective rather than preventative.