Last month the council considered appealing the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal decision in the Supreme Court.

In April, VCAT gave the green light for the hotel to install 30 poker machines.

Yesterday, City of Greater Bendigo director of planning and development Prue Mansfield said the council had looked at appealing the decision but had decided it would be too costly.

“It would be up to us to prove that VCAT had made a legal mistake,” she said.

“Then it would go back to VCAT.

“When considering the benefit of going to the Supreme Court with the likely costs and whether it would be successful, it was decided that council should advocate much more strongly about where gaming machines are distributed. This includes a review of our gaming policy.

“We want to minimise the harm done to people who are struggling with gaming.”

Last year the council rejected a planning application that would have seen a second storey added and the ground floor extended at the Foundry Hotel.

The council received eight objections to the proposal.

The objections included concerns about the applicant’s bid to waiver additional parking and additional noise from the hotel, and claims that the proposal was unreasonable for a residential area.

The council sent out 729 social impact surveys to properties within a 500 metre radius of the hotel.

The survey found 74 per cent did not want gaming machines installed and it showed a significant number of residents in Golden Square believed they would be negatively affected by the installation of the gaming machines.