26 C O N T E X T 1 2 8 : M A R C H 2 0 1 3 eritage of isure The heritage he heritage of leisure ge of leisure The heritage e heritage of leisure The he of leisure The heritage of heritage of leisure introduction of the Gambling Act 2005.After the demise of the arcade video games, a large proportion of the traditional seaside arcades had invested in reel-based gambling (fruit) machines. Since its introduction, the Gambling Act has had negative impacts on the seaside amusements. Arcade owners complain that the legislation has made the arcades less competitive than other gambling establishments such as bingo halls, casinos and betting shops. More recently amusement arcade owners have been contesting another part of the Gambling Act 2005: machine games duty (MGD). The introduction of MGD in February 2013 implements a ‘gross-profits tax’ on all gaming-based arcade machines.With profits already negligible for many arcades, operators claim that MGD will result in job losses, reduced opening hours and many seaside arcades going out of business. The closure of amusement arcades will have a significant impact on the resortscape of many seaside towns. All the photographs are the author’s own. Anya Chapman is a senior lecturer in tourism management at Bournemouth University. Almost 200 seaside amusement arcades closed their doors for good between 2007 and 2009. It is estimated that up to half of the remaining 1,000 arcades at British resorts are vulnerable. This presents a considerable dilemma with regard to what to do with these sizeable and often architecturally significant buildings when amusement arcades do close. The value of arcade buildings has yet to be recognised. No amusement arcade has listed status. Surprisingly, the UK’s first purpose-built arcade is not listed, and in what is seen by many as a cruel twist of fate, the Paradium in Great Yarmouth closed in 2006 to be reopened the following year as the Yesterday’s World heritage centre, featuring a section on seaside heritage, including old arcade machines. Great examples of the 1930s modernist style are also neglected, with arcades such as Manning’s Amusements in Felixstowe (a former Butlins amusement park opened in 1933) and the New Palace in New Brighton yet to be noted for their social, cultural or architectural interest. Many seaside piers have been granted listed status. Some of the most iconic buildings on these structures house amusement arcades, including Brighton’s Palace pier winter garden/pavilion (1910); Worthing pier’s amusement pavilion (1937); Saltburn pier’s entrance building (1925); and the music pavilion (1925) on Eastbourne pier. A recent addition to this list of iconic pier buildings has been the new pavilion on Westonsuper-Mare, which opened in 2010 and hosts a state-ofthe-art amusement arcade, indoor rides and attractions, retail and catering facilities. There are a number of coastal towns where the entire character of the resortscape would be fundamentally altered were the arcades to close: the promenades and seafronts of Blackpool, Rhyl,Mablethorpe, Scarborough, Margate and Morecambe would certainly look a lot less extraordinary without the neon lights and striking facades of their amusement arcades. The new pavilion on Weston-super-Mare Grand Pier. Opened in 2010,it contains amusement machines alongside a robo-coaster and indoor go-karting track. Worthing pier’s amusement pavilion opened in 1937. The pier is Grade II listed.
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