Club 3000 Bingo Bedminster After 12 years of serving the Bristol bingo community from its Knowle location, Club 3000 Bingo has made a surprise announcement that it is leaving its Broadwalk Shopping Centre location and relocating to a new bingo venue in nearby Bedminster.
Club 3000 Bingo Statement
A statement issued to customers read:
“After 12 years of playing bingo at Broadwalk Shopping Centre, Club 3000 has received a minimum four-month notice to vacate the premises due to ongoing issues related to the car park,” they said.
“We are actively engaged in discussions with the management of the Broadwalk Shopping Centre in the hope of extending our lease into next year. Our top priority remains supporting our dedicated team of 45 staff and continuing to serve our valued community of over 34,000 members,”
Club 3000 has proudly served South Bristol for more than 25 years. The closure of this venue will mark the end of bingo in an area that once hosted four thriving clubs – a sad moment for the local community.
“Looking ahead, we’re excited to announce that we have acquired land in South Bristol with plans to build a brand-new bingo club. Hopefully, if planning permission is granted, we’ll be able to share a clearer timeline for the opening. In the meantime, we are also exploring alternative options to ensure our customers can continue enjoying bingo at nearby clubs and online.”
The popular bingo venue has been given just four months’ notice to leave due to ‘ongoing issues related to the car park’. The car park at South Bristol’s biggest indoor shopping centre was closed suddenly in June, after a structural report raised concerns about the ageing multi-storey car park.
The car park at the Broadwalk Shopping Centre in Knowle, which is earmarked for demolition in the long term, closed without any notice earlier last month, leaving shoppers and business owners, including Club 3000 Bingo, uncertain of its future.
Despite all this, club managers have said they hope to be allowed to stay longer and are in negotiations with the management of the shopping centre.
In the long term, Club 3000 Bingo, which is the UK's largest independent retail bingo operator, is working on plans to build a new, purpose-built bingo hall on an empty site at the bottom of Hartcliffe Way, near the Parson Street area of Bedminster. The large site was the location for van hire firm Vanbase before it moved a few years ago to Avonmouth, and has been empty ever since, apart from a spell as a temporary location for Enterprise car hire while it rebuilt its premises next door.
A spokesperson for Club 3000 said:
“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 Founder “Chuffed to Bits”
Brian Fraser, the fouder of Club 3000 Bingo, added:
“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.
“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,” he added.
“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.
Ben has been an massive bingo enthusiast and fan since playing at the seaside as a kid. Dedicated to bringing you the latest and best bingo news from the UK
