Opposition is growing to a plan for another betting shop in Bradford, sparking fears the city centre is becoming over-run with gaming and gambling establishments.

The protest follows a further application for a bookmakers, this time taking over the former Woolwich bank building at 71 to 75 Kirkgate.

The bid by BetFred follows the company opening up at 26 Market Street in part of the former Dillons bookstore two years ago. The proposed new branch would be less than 300 metres away.

Councillor David Green, Bradford Council’s executive member for regeneration, said the key location should remain a retail site as there were already sufficient betting shops in the city centre.

He told the Telegraph & Argus: “It’s a primary retail site and we are committed to ensuring that Bradford has a mixed economy.

“I am extremely concerned about losing primary retail sites such as this, particularly given the way the city centre is beginning to raise itself.

“I think we have already got an adequate number of bookmakers in the city centre to cope with the demand. One of the issues it that bookmakers are less about the traditional greyhound and horse racing now, but are becoming more about gaming machines and they are limited to the number per shop.

“This is a primary site in a prime shopping row and we would want it to go to retail.”

The trend for more betting shops is thought to be partly driven by restrictions on the number of potentially-lucrative gaming machines that can be located inside one shop. The more shops a bookmaker has in a city, the more gaming machines it can have.

The Reverend Chris Howson, city centre mission priest, said gambling establishments mainly took money away from the city centre rather than investing in it.

He said: “If we want to improve the city centre and make it more attractive to retail and shoppers, we need to not lease all our retail space to betting shops – it’s an obvious thing really.

“There’s a real worry about a culture of gambling that can become legitimised by the presence of so many gambling outlets in our city centre.”

Mary Frame, of Bradford Chamber of Trade, said: “The Chamber of Trade is certainly against the application – we feel we have enough of these establishments in the city centre.”

Permission is needed from Council planners to change the use of the premises from retail – known as class A1 – to a licensed betting office, which is class A2.

The building has a history of similar applications with bids to turn it into an adult gaming centre and bingo hall, all refused by the Council. It has been primarily vacant for the last four years, apart from a four-month period from December 2010 when it was a clothes shop.

In documents supporting the application, BetFred states: “There has clearly been some difficulty in seeking to find a viable future use for the unit and its configuration and size do not assist in providing for modern retailers requirements.”

It adds: “The unit has therefore suffered long periods of vacancy and in our view would benefit from occupation by a national operator such as Betfred.”

BetFred’s existing betting shop in Market Street was initially refused permission by the Council on the grounds that it would create an imbalance of retail and non-retail uses. But the decision was overturned on appeal.

The latest application has only just gone online and has already drawn an objection on the grounds that a betting office would be out of keeping with the surrounding businesses.

The objector said: “The city centre is already bursting with gambling establishments, eight amusement arcades, seven betting shops and two bingo halls – so there is already sufficient choice.”

Other city centre betting shops include William Hill and Paddy Power, on Broadway, and Ladbrokes on Bank Street.

William Hill also applied for a licence to turn 12 Ivegate into a bookmakers last year.

The licence was granted by the Council in June, but was surrendered by the company in September.