Charnwood Eco Hub has successfully applied to Charnwood Borough Council to list the former Beacon Bingo Hall as a community asset
Originally opened as a cinema in 1936 as part of the Odeon cinema chain, the building was subsequently converted to a social club in 1969, after which it became a bingo hall, until its eventual closure in 2021. In order to qualify as a community asset, a building must have been used for community benefit in the recent past. Its listing means that should the owners decide to sell, local community organisations are given the opportunity to put a bid together to buy it. Listing a property doesn’t prevent the sale of the building, nor does it limit the use that it can be put to by the current owners.
The building is also Grade II listed as a building of architectural significance – it is a remarkably well preserved and accomplished example of the 1930s modernist cinema style employed by the Odeon cinema chain, at that time, style leaders in cinema design. The small car park adjacent to the Bing Hall has recently been opened as a pay and display car park, creating valuable additional town centre parking spaces.
A representative of Charnwood Eco Hub, who applied for the building to be listed, said, “The former Beacon Bingo hall is an iconic building. We asked for it to be listed as a community asset so that if the current owners ever decide to sell, the community has an option to put a bid together to offer to buy it on behalf of the town and maintain its use for the social benefit of local residents, which has been its sole purpose up to this point. So many socially historic buildings have been converted into flats or offices, and whilst we’d of course rather see this beautiful building put to any use rather than allowed to fall into disrepair, it would be amazing if it could continue to be a community space. We would love to hear what people’s favourite memories are of the building.” Contact us to share your memories of the Beacon Bingo Hall.