News
Wednesbury bingo smoking shelter reprieve
Having been told by Walsall Council to pull down a smoking shelter, Gala Bingo in Wednesbury has responded with revised plans for the structure at St James Bridge in Park Lane.
The 50ft by 20ft shelter, complete with a gaming machine, sound link and a button to press if the smoker wished to call “house”, is situated in the car park. But the Development Control Committee at Walsall Council decided that the shelter should be removed because it was: “detrimental to the character and appearance of the area and safe manoeuvring in the car park.”
Gala Bingo built the shelter as a response to dwindling trade caused by the smoking ban which has resulted in low attendance and the closure of bingo halls across the country. But now the company has re-submitted plans to reduce the size of the structure which, it says, involves only relatively minor works.
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In an unrelated Employment Tribunal in Birmingham, a Willenhall man has been awarded £24,000 for alleged unfair dismissal after he was sacked for smoking outside the gates of his firm`s premises. Supervisor Peter Goody worked for 17 years at Evans & Reid Alloys Ltd of Coseley and was due to be made redundant. He claimed that the company sacked him to avoid redundancy payments. He was fired for “gross misconduct” for smoking outside the factory during breaks in his night shift. The company cited their no smoking policy and the fact that warning signs had been put up inside the factory.