Merkur Slots casino in North End, Portsmouth, seeks to extend its opening to 24-hours a day

Under the 2021 decision to approve Merkur Slots’ opening in London Road, the council added a condition restricting it to 8am-midnight hours, in a bid to limit potential issues of noise disturbance late at night.

But the company said this was an unusually early closing time for such a business and has now applied for the removal of the condition.

‘Merkur Slots typically operate 24 hours therefore a midnight closing time is a very early closing time for a leisure use that relies on night-time trade,’ a letter from its agent planning potential said. ‘Due to there being robust evidence justifying a 24-hour opening at this location, this application seeks to remove condition 4, allowing 24-hour operation daily.

‘The amendment sought will enable Merkur Slots’ key customer base to benefit from the offer and service provided by the adult gaming centre. The evening/late-night customer base is predominantly shift workers looking to relax after evening shifts.’

As part of the application, in a bid to allay the council’s original concerns over later opening hours, a noise assessment has been submitted which said the proposal ‘would not alter the current noise exposure to the area,’ based on evidence gathered by Archo Consulting at other 24-hour businesses elsewhere in the country.

Archo Consulting’s report added: ‘Patrons are typically regulars from the local area and are unlikely to be inclined to disobey the rules or staff members.’

The council has set itself a deadline of March 31 for reaching a decision on whether to remove the condition.