Six Glaswegians could lose jobs, as plans for new William Hill store rejected

William Hill is moving out of the rundown Shawbridge Arcade, which is to be transformed into housing, and wants to relocate to a vacant office in a tenement at 33 Riverford Road.

On Tuesday, councillors upheld a previous council decision to refuse permission for plans to convert the former solicitors’ office in Riverford Road to be used as the William Hill betting shop.

In an appeal Brian Minihane, of William Hill Organization, said six people from the local area will lose their jobs if the shop closes for good.

He said: “Unfortunately the precinct within which the William Hill shop is situated is very run down and as a result the local council are now ready to demolish the scheme, with plans to replace with a modern residential block.”

The national licensing and development manager added: “In this situation it is my role to find an alternative premises so that we can continue to trade within the same locality in order to provide our customers with a continued service.”

Mr Minihane said “there are very few alternative commercial premises available in the immediate locality.”

William Hill Organization Ltd applied for permission to make alterations to the front of 33 Riverford Road, install an air conditioning unit and a satellite dish.

Councillors at the planning local review committee knocked back the bid today following an appeal from the betting firm and upheld a previous council refusal of the plans.

SNP Councillor Eva Bolander raised concerns about the location of the ventilation unit and its impact residents. SNP councillor Ken Andrew also said he had concerns about the air conditioning unit and the potential disruption to neighbours.

The committee agreed to uphold the refusal for six reasons stated in a council report, which included that it is is not in accordance with the development plan. Other problems stated included a lack of cycle parking and no recycling strategy provided.

The council report said another issue is that the proposed ‘sui generis’ use beneath flats and beside other homes would result in an “unacceptable impact on the residential amenity of the neighbouring flatted dwellings.”

But Mr Minihane pointed out there have been no complaints from residents living above the 33 William Hill betting shops in Glasgow which are below flats.

He said there is no evidence to suggest the proposal would have an unacceptable impact on residential amenity.

Mr Minihane added: “The people who use these shops, often older people, using their local shop to meet up with friends and enjoy some leisure time together, are finding it harder to do so. For some of these people, it may be the only face-to-face contact they have on a regular basis.”

A premises licence for the bookmakers has already been granted by the council.