Bingo Hall to Become Community Centre

by Hollie Sanders

There has been much in that news recently about bingo halls, closing down, being sold and converted into churches. Now a former bingo hall is being converted into a multi-purpose community centre and church, this is ambitious planning and it is good to know that the former bingo hall, once the centre of community activities, will still be providing some sense of community.

When the Bournemouth Community Church (BCC) heard rumours that the Gala Bingo Club would be closing down, they approached Gala Coral to discuss future plans for the Wimbourne Road Club in Mooredown.

Currently discussions are still underway for the former Moderne cinema conversion plans and a planning application has been submitted to the Bournemouth Council, but it is envisaged that the upper level of the present building will be converted into an eight hundred-seater auditorium, while the lower level will be used for training rooms, children’s clubs and community events.

The venues will house the Bournemouth Community Church but will also be providing a suitable venue for use by local theatre groups and other many other community organizations as well as a youth centre with a sports hall and lounge area. Currently no plans are in place to alter the exterior of the building.