- Club 3000 Bingo will relocate to Hartcliffe Way after 12 years at Broadwalk Shopping Centre
Club 3000 Bingo – one of just two remaining bingo clubs in Bristol – has found a new permanent home where it plans to build a state-of-the-art club to serve its many thousands of regular Bristol customers.
For the past 12 years, Club 3000 Bingo has been based in Knowle’s Broadwalk Shopping Centre. But the shopping centre has come to the end of its life and is set to be redeveloped.
After years of searching for a new home, the family-owned business has bought a site at 37 Hartcliffe Way – currently a vacant commercial yard – where the company is applying for planning permission to build its new bespoke club.
The new club – located about two miles from Broadwalk Shopping Centre – will include great food and a bar for Club 3000’s customers. As well as the new building, Club 3000 Bingo is proposing a car park for approximately 144 car parking spaces, including dedicated spaces for blue badge holders and electric vehicle charging points.
As well as ample parking, Club 3000 Bingo is proposing extensive landscaping to bring some greenery and biodiversity into the site, but to also screen the car park to minimise the impact on its new neighbours. The new building has been positioned within the site so it is away from the nearby homes on Wimborne Road and Hastings Road.
The site has good existing bus services and a pedestrian crossing just 25 metres from the entrance. Parson Street Railway Station is located approximately 500 metres northeast of the site. There is a cycle lane along Hartcliffe Way which runs directly in front of the new site.
Club 3000 Bingo has expanded from just a single venue in 2006, to now operating 24 sites across England, Scotland and Wales, making it the largest independent bingo club operator in the UK and 3rd largest bingo chain.
In Bristol, it has 34,000 members, with 3,000 actively playing bingo at the existing club.
The company is sharing details of its planning application – and inviting feedback – via its websitehttps://www.club3000bingo.com/proposed-new-bristol-club and on Facebook. It will then submit its planning application to Bristol City Council.
Club 3000 Bingo founder Brian Fraser said: “We’re absolutely delighted to have found and bought our own new home in Bristol, and chuffed to bits we are able to stay in South Bristol where most of our wonderful customers live.
“We’ve loved being based in Knowle’s Broadwalk Shopping Centre, but it’s time to build a fantastic state-of-the-art bingo club for our customers to enjoy.
Interior image from Club 3000 Cardiff.
“Bingo is hugely popular in Bristol. For many people it is not just a fun experience – and a chance to win big prizes – it’s also a really important social outlet. We saw how important this was during lockdown where we kept in close contact with lots of our regular customers.
“We don’t have exact dates for when the new club will be ready to move into. We are seeking to work with Bristol City Council to get our planning application approved as soon as possible. Then we’ll be ready to get onsite and start building our new bingo club.
“This will, of course, take some time. Our best estimate is at least 18 months, possibly two years or so. We are currently in discussions with the owners of Broadwalk about how long we will be able to remain in Knowle. But there is going to be a period during which we are closed. During that time we’ll be running bus services probably twice a week to our nearby Cardiff and Cwmbran clubs. And our customers can, of course, continue to play bingo with us online.
“We really appreciate and value our customers, many of whom we know personally. We understand this change may be unsettling for some, but our intention is to get this done as quickly as possible so they can continue to enjoy bingo and socialising at Club 3000 Bingo.”
