Councillor blasts An Coimisiún Pleanála decision on Newbridge, Kildare arcade expansion

Cllr Chris Pender (SD) has issued a strong condemnation of the decision by An Coimisiún Pleanála to overturn Kildare County Council’s refusal and grant permission for the expansion of an amusement and gaming arcade on Eyre Street and Charlotte Street in Newbridge, Co Kildare.

The application was refused by Kildare County Council in September 2025 on the basis that amusement and gaming arcades are not permitted under the Newbridge Settlement Plan and that the proposal was contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the town.

Councillor Pender said the decision represents a serious failure to recognise gambling as a source of real and ongoing harm in communities, particularly at a time of rising cost of living pressures.

“This decision by An Coimisiún Pleanála is reckless and completely out of touch with what is happening in communities”, he said.

“Calling this an ‘amusement' or 'gaming arcade’ is a fiction. For all intents and purposes it is about slot machines and gambling, and approving its expansion actively enables addiction, debt, and harm at a time when people are already under severe cost of living pressure.

“Kildare County Council applied the Settlement Plan correctly and refused this development, but that local democratic decision has been overridden by a national body that will never have to deal with the social fallout. Gambling should be treated as a public health issue, not dressed up as entertainment and waved through the planning system.”

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Councillor Pender said the terminology used in planning decisions is misleading and masks the true nature of these developments.

“There is nothing amusing about gambling addiction,” he said. “Using soft language to describe these premises sanitises harm and makes it easier for damaging uses to be approved in the heart of our towns.”

He warned that the continued approval of gambling related developments will further normalise gambling in town centres and increase exposure for young people and vulnerable adults, particularly where such uses are located close to homes, schools, youth services, and community facilities.

Councillor Pender said conditions attached to the permission, including limits on opening hours and noise, fail to address the core issue.

“Noise limits and restricted hours are beside the point,” he said. “The harm comes from the gambling itself. This decision facilitates that harm while pretending it can be managed through minor conditions.”

He said the case highlights the need for urgent reform of how gambling uses are assessed within the planning system.

“Local settlement plans must mean something,” he said.

“If they can be so easily overridden, public confidence in planning and local democracy will continue to erode. Newbridge deserves planning decisions that put people first, not ones that prioritise profit and hide behind misleading labels.”