Merkur Slots has applied to Brighton and Hove City Council to turn a vacant shop unit at 95 to 97 London Road into a slot machine arcade that would open 24 hours a day. The company’s own noise report says the six floors above the unit are student accommodation. The first objections have been published on the council’s planning register, and neighbours have until 17 November to comment.
Application. BH2026/02293. Subdivision and change of use from a vacant retail unit (Class E) to an adult gaming centre (sui generis). Received and validated 9 October 2026.
Where. Unit A, 95 to 97 London Road, Brighton BN1 4JF. West Hill and North Laine ward.
Applicant. Merkur Slots Ltd (UK), with Planning Potential Ltd as agent.
Hours. 24 hours a day, according to the applicant’s noise assessment.
Deadlines. Neighbours can comment until 17 November 2026 and official consultees until 19 November. The decision deadline is 4 December 2026.
What Merkur says it would run
According to the applicant’s health impact assessment, the unit would have a level entrance and a disabled toilet, and would create 12 jobs. Merkur describes it as an adult gaming centre and says it does not offer betting. It says customers get free tea and coffee, that a “No Alcohol Allowed” sign would be on the door, and that staff would not let in anyone who appears heavily intoxicated. It says it plays only background music and has no tannoy and no live sport, and that customers tend to visit alone or in pairs.
On security, the assessment says Merkur fits Secured by Design measures in new venues, including alarms, CCTV, external lighting and suitable doors and glazing. A monitor at the central desk would let staff see the pavement outside, and extra lighting would be added at the entrance. It says new staff get six weeks of training and refresher training every six months, including safeguarding and spotting gambling harm.
The same document says city-centre wards in Brighton and Hove see more recorded crime than suburban areas, and rates the risk of crime and disorder at the premises as “moderate”, in line with a gambling venue in a busy city-centre location. It says there is no evidence that the premises itself would raise the risk of serious crime.
The noise report
The application includes a noise assessment by Archo Consulting, dated 6 October 2026. It says the six floors above the unit are student accommodation, and that the first floor of those rooms is separated from the arcade by a concrete floor with small gaps and holes that could let sound through.
The report records background noise outside the unit on two nights from 7pm to 7am, a Wednesday and a Sunday in June 2026. It says activity in the area was generally high until about 2am, with groups of people and buses passing, and that it dropped between 2am and 4am but never stopped completely. Its figures put the average level at about 48 to 60 decibels on the weekday night, and about 51 to 61 decibels on the weekend night.
To judge the arcade’s own noise it uses measurements from 10 other Merkur venues, and case studies of six Merkur sites with 24-hour consent, four of which have homes above. It says customers are nearly always alone or in pairs and quiet, and that arrivals by car are extremely rare.
It recommends acoustic seals and an automatic closer on the entrance door, sealing every gap in the concrete ceiling, and a new double layer of 15mm fireboard. With those works and a noise management plan, it concludes that noise impacts are not anticipated and the site is suitable for 24-hour opening.
These are the findings of the applicant’s own consultant. At the time of writing the council’s register showed no response from environmental health or any other council team.
The case for the high street
Merkur also submitted a summary of footfall surveys at three of its other venues, in Hull, Wood Green in London and Lowestoft, carried out by ESA Retail on Friday 24 September 2021 between 9am and 6pm. It says that at each site the arcade was the busiest or second busiest of five units surveyed, by the number of people going in and out.
The survey asked 185 customers leaving the arcades some questions. It says 62% said the arcade was the main reason for their visit to the centre that day, and 62% said they also visit other shops and services. The survey was not carried out in Brighton and covered daytime trading only.
What people have said
The register shows six comments, and four had been published at the time of writing, all objecting. They cite deprivation, street homelessness and anti-social behaviour on London Road, the large student population living above and nearby, and the risk to people vulnerable to gambling harm. One says there is already a slot arcade on the street, and two say the arcade would set back the regeneration of London Road. These are views sent to the council by members of the public.
The licence
The health impact assessment says Merkur has also submitted a premises licence application, which sets out its player protection and security measures. We could not find that application on the council’s licensing register at the time of writing.
How to have your say
You can read the papers and comment on the council’s planning register under reference BH2026/02293. Neighbours can comment until 17 November 2026 and official consultees until 19 November. The council has not published a recommendation. For the council’s separate policy on gambling advertising, see our report, Brighton Council Bans Gambling and Fossil Fuel Adverts on Its Sites.
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