DEVIZES Mayor Margaret Taylor expressed the dismay of many when she heard that turf accountants William Hill had been granted permission to open a betting office in The Brittox.

The bookmaker had its appeal against refusal of planning permission for a change of use at the former discount store upheld by a Department for the Environment inspector last week.

The town council, chamber of commerce and Devizes Development Partnership had all opposed the application, saying that a betting office was not something they wanted to see in the town's main shopping street.

The application was turned down by Kennet District Council in July, citing the council's policy ED18, which does not allow the use of ground floor premises in prime retail areas other than for retail use, unless the applicant can prove that the development makes a positive contribution to the vitality and viability of the centre.

William Hill appealed against the decision and the appeal was set for a public inquiry, due to take place in June.

But in September, the inspector, Martin Andrews, wrote to Kennet saying that the appeal would be decided on the basis of an exchange of written statements from both parties.

He informed Kennet last week that he had come down in favour of William Hill. He felt, he said, that the betting office would make a positive contribution to the vitality of the centre.

He said: "The appellants have, to my mind, produced a wealth of empirical evidence to clearly demonstrate that the number of customers visiting the betting office would be as great, if not more, than to many shop premises in a similar location and, furthermore, that typically over three quarters of customers would also visit a shop before or after a visit to the betting office."

He said the premises had been on the market for four years and the limited amount of window display has made it difficult to rent out to leading retailers.

Margaret Taylor said the inspector's decision was incomprehensible. She said: "He didn't listen to any of our arguments. There are very few premises of this size in the town centre and we have now lost it to the retail sector."

Peter Lay, chairman of Devizes Development Partnership, said that, on top of the number of charity shops in the area, this decision would create a bad impression of the town's premier shopping street.

He said: "When you witness a betting shop and a number of charity shops in an area it is usually indicative of a weak retail economy. The DDP and the town centre manager are focussed on developing and improving the retail economy of the town." Town centre manager Janet Duffield was dismayed and said she had had a number of inquiries from businesses interested in moving into the town.

There was also anger among members of Devizes Chamber of Commerce. Chairman Jo Batchelor said: "We are very disappointed but it was inevitable because Kennet couldn't resist the might of an organisation the size of William Hill."

A spokesman for William Hill said that an application for a gaming licence is still outstanding and, until that is granted, it was not prepared to make plans for the conversion and refurbishment of the property.

Managers at branches of the Stan James bookmakers group in Sidmouth Street and the Market Place said they were not afraid of fair competition and they would have to wait and see how the opening of a third betting office in the town would affect their businesses.