It was last year that Perks Mitchelstown Ltd applied for, and were granted planning permission to change the former Weavers Bar which is located on Lower Cork Street, Mitchelstown in County Cork Ireland into an amusement arcade, and as such they must have been under the impression it would be a simple procedure getting the required gambling licence to operate such a venue.
However, residents came out in force to object strongly against the licensing of such a venue, and their combined efforts has seen a court subsequently rejecting the issuing of a gambling license for the building.
Those residents formed a group with the name the Concerned Citizens of Mitchelstown and their objections were based around a decision by Cork Council back in 1984 to ban all types of gambling operations in the town.
It was suggested that the planning permission initially granted should have been seen as a greenlight for the amusement arcade to be opened and issued with a gambling license, however the court decided that it was not the remit of the planning committee to decide on whether a gambling license can and/or should be granted to any such venue and as such the court ruled the company would not be granted such a license to operate.
Whether or not Perks Mitchelstown Ltd will seek an appeal against the decision remains to be seen, however it does look like any such appeal would not be successful, based on the fact a previous decision had been made by Cork Council to restrict any type of gambling venues to open in and around the area.
