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Government says 'no' to Manchester supercasino

07/02/2008

A supercasino will not be built in Manchester despite pressure from the city council.

The decision to scrap the project follows a review that was set up last summer following Gordon Brown's appointment as Labour leader and prime minister.

A formal announcement has not yet been made but the BBC learned of the decision after obtaining a copy of a letter to the Scottish and Welsh executives.

At the start of 2007, east Manchester was chosen by the Casino Advisory Panel as the location for Britain's first Las Vegas-style supercasino, surprising many pundits who thought only Blackpool and Greenwich were in the running.

But following pressure from MPs who supported Blackpool, and the Church of England which opposed setting up a gambling hub in a poor part of Manchester, the House of Lords rejected the proposal.

The project was then sidelined at the tail-end of the Blair government and subjected to a review at the start of the Brown era.

Although the government has abandoned Manchester's bid, ministers are still expected to give the go-ahead to 16 smaller casinos.

A parliamentary announcement will be made within the next few weeks.