Bowl Central bowling alley will open in Fareham in the spring in former Adastra's building

Fareham Borough Council voted unanimously for the disused Adastra’s nightclub site to be redeveloped into a Bowl Central venue.

The new venue will include five bowling lanes, arcade games, a bar and a restaurant.

Councillor Katrina Trott said: ‘There were 37 comments by people and the vast majority of them were in favour, this is something that is good for the town.

‘The old bowling alley that was taken over by Matalan is very much regretted.

‘The problem I have with the layout as it is at the moment is the number of gambling machines.

‘Gambling can be addictive resulting in personal hardships and relationship breakdowns.’

Councillor Michael Ford disagreed with the concerns: ‘It seems to me this is a no-brainer this one.

‘The fact whether it’s got gambling machines is not our concern here I would suggest.

Tracy Standish, director of K.T.O ltd, which operates Bowl Central in Bournemouth said: ‘We won’t be offering any gambling machines of any type in the premises and by that, I mean as defined by the Gambling Commission.

‘As far as we’re concerned, what we’re offering is a conventional bowling family entertainment offer, none of the machines that we will be operating requires a gambling licence.

‘If we can get the agreement with the landlord exchanged before Christmas then we are aiming to be open in April

‘We’re very excited and really looking forward to bringing this new venue to the community.’