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Middlesbrough greets casino deal

Civic chiefs in Middlesbrough have welcomed news that the town is to get a large-scale casino. While Manchester won the race to host a super-casino, Middlesbrough was one of eight areas to get licences for 2,500 sq metre gaming areas. Middlesbrough Council predicts the project will mean 300 new jobs and a £10m investment in the town. A competition will now be held to find an operator for the casino, to be built in the town centre or Middlehaven.

Joe Docherty, chief executive of Tees Valley Regeneration, said: “This is great news. To win the right to a licence for a large casino against such tough competition shows what confidence there is in the regeneration of the town. “The successful bid means a multi-million pound investment and jobs boost that will also benefit the wider Tees Valley and everybody involved to be congratulated.”

Pete Halsall, managing director of BioRegional Quintain, the developers who will build the next phase of Middlehaven, said: “We believe that Middlehaven would be the best location for a casino in Middlesbrough. “It will be the hub of a new retail and leisure zone for the town and a casino would fit in perfectly as an added attraction to the cafés, bars, restaurants and shops we already plan.”

Ray Mallon, Mayor of Middlesbrough, said: “The casino development will be a significant addition to those facilities and offers further proof that Middlesbrough is open for business and can compete with other towns and cities. “Our task now is to ensure that the chosen operator maximises the regeneration opportunities the casino brings and is committed to working in partnership with the council and other agencies striving to improve the quality of life in Middlesbrough.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .