Kingston Council fights supermarket’s plans near hotel in Chelsea Heights
Plans for a new supermarket less than 100m away from a pokies venue in Chelsea Heights will expose residents to a greater risk of gambling harm, a local council fears.
South East
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A local council wants the state government to ban developers from building supermarkets near pokie venues, as it fights plans for a new store near a hotel in Chelsea Heights.
VCAT has approved application from Endeavour Group which could see a supermarket open just 75m from the entrance of the Chelsea Heights Hotel, with Kingston City Council appealing the ruling.
The council is calling on the Victorian Planning Minister to block “a major loophole” in planning laws which allows developers to build supermarkets next to gaming venues.
Mayor Steve Staikos said the law is a “gap in logic” and leaves community members open to the “very real trauma of gambling harm”.
“In Victoria, it’s nonsensical that you can’t build a gaming venue next to a supermarket, but you can build a supermarket next to an existing gaming venue,” Mr Staikos said.
The council is calling the state government to prohibit gaming premises in proximity to supermarkets as well as prohibit the use of land for a supermarket in situations it is seeking to establish in proximity to an established gaming premise.
Punters in Kingston lost a total of $44.2 million through poker machines in 2020, despite venues being closed for five months of the year.
