diff --git a/arbor/memory/allocator.hpp b/arbor/memory/allocator.hpp
index 406e960413a161482f1465bb4cac3916549e630a..26ca109cb3ce658a3c2dd066a6bbac82e7fcc6f4 100644
--- a/arbor/memory/allocator.hpp
+++ b/arbor/memory/allocator.hpp
@@ -184,7 +184,7 @@ public:
         return &r;
     }
 
-    pointer allocate(size_type cnt, typename std::allocator<void>::const_pointer = 0) {
+    pointer allocate(size_type cnt) {
         if (cnt) {
             return reinterpret_cast<T*>(allocate_policy(cnt*sizeof(T)));
         }