Opponents fail to halt bid for pokies

South Wairarapa District Council has allowed a Featherston pokie application to proceed to the next stage, despite strong opposition from two councillors.

Prime Community Trust (PCT) asked the council to approve an application for gambling consent at 57 Fox St, formerly run by the Featherston RSA.

Under the rules of the council's revised gambling venues policy 2012, a gaming licence can be reinstated as an existing use if applied for within six months.

Although not the case with this venue, yesterday councillors voted 9-2 to allow the application to go to a hearings committee after an amendment by Mayor Adrienne Staples.

Councillor Julie Riddell and Deputy Mayor Viv Napier opposed the application and moved that it be declined.

"It would appear to me if these machines have been switched off for six months and nobody has even noticed, really do they need to be switched on again?" Mrs Riddell said.

Mrs Staples said members of the RSA had noticed.

"People go elsewhere on the Friday," she said.

PCT representative Alister Skene said the trust was seeking to install seven gaming machines, there were previously eight.

Mr Skene said the trust tried to return about 40 per cent of their profit to the community, higher than the 37 per cent legally required.

"Our returns are a bit higher than the national average.

"Unlike other trusts, we don't syphon it off to national projects. We want to put all the money back into the Wairarapa," he said.