Resort-Style Casino A Fair Bet, Probably
Brent Council has rushed to quell suggestions it has agreed to support a Las Vegas style casino in Wembley.
It appeared behind the scenes discussions had taken place when a developer told the Brent Housing Conference its super casino scheme had the support of the council last Tuesday.
Mike Youkee, head of housing at Quintain Estates and Development, was outlining proposals to build Caesars Wembley next to the national stadium when he said: "We have got the support of Brent."
When Mr Youkee was questioned about who had given Quintain this support, the council's head of regeneration, Andrew Donald, was quick to interject. He said: "Brent has not had a formal application to consider on a casino and therefore we have not made a public decision about whether Brent supports such a facility at this stage." Mr Youkee then withdrew his statement.
A council spokeswoman was later asked what discussions had taken place between the council and Quintain regarding a possible casino.
She said: "Brent's unitary development plan does support a major leisure development in Wembley and in that sense the policy framework would be supportive of a major leisure use - such as a resort-style casino." She added that the council was in "ongoing discussions with a number of organisations about their future development proposals for Wembley that include a resort style casino."
Quintain owns 58 acres of land around Wembley Stadium and has received planning permission for its phase one development which includes 3,700 new homes, a 400 bedroom hotel, and the refurbishment of Wembley Arena. It is also involved in a joint venture with the London Development Agency to build a further 500 homes on 12 acres next to its own land.
Quintain has formed a partnership with Caesars Entertainment Inc, and hopes to build the UK's largest casino on the site of the Palace of Industry as part of its stage two development. Progress on the casino has been held up by opposition to legislation legalising super casinos.
