UK Super Casino Bid Is Launched

A Teesside town is bidding to become the home of the UK's only, world-class £150m super casino.

The Las Vegas-style gambling venue, which has been earmarked for Middlehaven docklands in Middlesbrough, could create 2,000 new jobs. 

The campaign is being launched by Mayor Ray Mallon and Tees Valley Regeneration who want the public to back the bid. 

Mr Mallon said the casino, which would also boast a music arena, would put the town on the map. 

He said: "Opportunities like this do not come along very often, we must grasp it with both hands. 

"These are exciting times for Middlesbrough with a new art gallery, public square and housing regeneration breathing new life into the town. 

"A regional casino and the associated developments would do that, making Middlesbrough a destination and stamping our identity on the national consciousness." 

More than 2,400 homes and 500,000 sq ft of leisure space are also to be built on the Middlehaven site in the next 20 years. 

A four-star, casino hotel would also be built as well as a moveable road bridge across the Middlehaven dock entrance. 

An independent panel was set up earlier this year to advise the government on the location of new casinos. 

Under the Gambling Act, only one super casino can be built in the UK, along with 16 other smaller ones. 

Cities and towns are being urged to put in bids. 

Concern has been expressed over the possible impact of a super casino on people living nearby. 

But Chief Executive of Tees Valley Regeneration Joe Docherty said: "Studies have proven the regeneration benefits of attracting such developments."