The plenary session of the Albacete City Council unanimously approved this Thursday the proposal of the municipal socialist group to modify the General Urban Plan (PGOU), a necessary step to declare three districts of the city saturated with betting houses, and thus limit the opening of more establishments.
The celevencial socialist Roberto Tejadawho was in charge of defending the motion, expressed the concern of the Municipal Group about the proliferation of betting rooms in the city, stressing the need for stricter regulation to protect public health and social well-being. In this sense, the councilor thanked the favorable vote of all political parties, as well as “the previous work of many people who have included this debate over the years.”
“Let’s take advantage of the regulatory changes to improve the future of Albacete,” said Roberto Tejada, referring to the modification of the PGOU, through which the entire city council agreed to limit the proliferation of betting houses, creating exclusion zones and distance regulation with additional restrictions to those already established by the regional governmentand always taking into account the proximity of educational centers and other sensitive places.
Furthermore, the mayor stressed that, as part of the implementation of stricter regulations, “it would be necessary to review existing licenses and limit the opening hours of the 24 betting houses in our city.” It should be recalled that, through an agreement in plenary, The previous municipal corporation declared three districts saturated with betting shops: District 1 (Centro-Villacerrada, Feria, La Pajarita and Carretas-Huerta de Marzo), District 2 (Fátima, Franciscanos, Santa Teresa, La Vereda, San Pedro Mortero and Pedro Lamata) and District 3 (Hospital, Parque-Sur, Sepulcro-Bowling Alley, Hermanos Falcó and University).
According to Tejada, “it is necessary to plan and regulate the use of the territory to protect our citizens, especially those who are most vulnerable to gambling, young people and even people in economic difficulty, and it is important that the municipality take measures and put order and regulation in this situation as soon as possible.
