The UK Government has officially scrapped plans to develop a Las Vegas-style super-casino in Manchester.
The planned £265m casino resort was originally approved in January last year, but came up against strong opposition from a number of MPs, including incoming Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who just months earlier had actually voted in favour of the development.
Now, after months of intense debate, the government has officially vetoed the super-casino, prompting Manchester City Council to threaten a lawsuit to protect its plan to improve its dilapidated eastlands, where the resort was intended to be built.
Andy Burnham, the culture secretary, told MPs that there had been concerns over the negative impact of the development, stating that the benefits of a large casino could be reaped through alternative projects.
However, shadow culture secretary Jeremy Hunt said the announcement illustrated the "mess of the government’s gambling policy."
Following the news, it was also announced that the development of eight large and another eight smaller casinos elsewhere in the UK has received the go-ahead.