Mepa this afternoon put off a decision over whether to grant a permit for a gaming parlour in an old building in the heart of Senglea.

The vote was tied two-two with a member of the permits board having been absent.  Another vote will be held in the near future.

The vote was taken after a 20-minute discussion which was heated at times.

The applicants argued that the gaming parlour would put to use a building which was currently unused and dilapidated.  The application, they insisted did not infringe any Mepa rule.

Objectors said the proposed site is within 60 metres of a Legion of Mary meeting place, and this went against gaming regulations, at which point the applicant said that was not Mepa's remit.

Representatives of Flimkien Ghal Ambjent Ahjar and Friends of Cottonera Forum argued that gaming parlours were not included in the list of uses for buildings in Urban Conservation Areas and a gaming parlour would lead to an increase in social problems.

The applicants insisted these were subjective moral issues which were also not within the Mepa remit.

The chairman acknowledged that gaming parlours were not the equivalent to retail space as mentioned in the local plan.

Arguments then followed on this point.

The issue was then put to a vote and the outcome was a draw.