LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Planners have been granted a licence to develop a new casino complex in Middlesbrough, announce Belle Rock Entertainment. The new £25 million leisure complex will feature hotels, banqueting facilities, restaurants and a multi-storey car park besides the casino itself.

Stockton-based Jomast Developments was awarded the licence by Middlesbrough council, one of only eight licences for such supercasino ventures granted in the UK.

The new venture will reportedly create 300 much-needed jobs in the city. At a time of economic uncertainty, it is hoped that the project will help to regenerate the city centre area, as well as significantly boost local and national tax revenues and those of local businesses. It will also see the Gurney House building brought back into use after years of lying vacant.

Jomast are currently preparing a full planning application for the project, and regulations require that a public consultation is undertaken to seek local citizen’s views on the scheme. In what could be the region’s biggest ever casino, Jomast are also now looking to put a casino operator in place, with several interested parties already expressing interest.

The granting of the licence follows years of rumours, planning and delayed proposals. Plans for a new supercasino in the area were first mooted in 2005, with Middlesbrough Mayor Ray Mallon outlining a scheme for a Vegas-style casino resort offering unlimited jackpots. Legal wrangles delayed the project, but seven years later, and following Middlesbrough’s award of a ‘large’ casino licence in 2007, the project can now get underway.

New plans are on a smaller scale than those first proposed in 2005, with a smaller casino floor, and 300 jobs being generated rather than the 1,000 jobs promised by the initial scheme. The casino will still be the biggest the region has ever seen, and hopes to put the city on the map, providing a major draw for tourists and locals alike.

Jomast’s development director Adam Hearld commented:

“We are delighted to have won the casino competition and this will enable us to revitalise this important town centre site. Our vision is to create a major new casino-based, leisure and entertainment destination.”

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About Belle Rock Entertainment

Belle Rock Entertainment is well-established UK casino, providing top quality online casino services to poker pros and beginners alike.




Source: Belle Rock Entertainment