Listen to this article:Оne of Bristol’s last remaining bingo venues, Club 3000 Bingo is relocating from its home of 12 years in the Broadwalk Shopping Centre in Knowle to a brand-new site in Bedminster. The move comes as the shopping centre is facing closure and redevelopment, which is forcing the club to move.
The bingo hall, which attracts hundreds of players each week and boasts 34,000 members in the city, confirmed it had received notice to vacate the Knowle premises. In a statement, the club said:
“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. 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.”
The car park serving the shopping centre was recently closed over safety concerns following a structural report. Both shoppers and businesses were left without notice, and the long-term future of the structure remains unclear. The Broadwalk centre is earmarked for demolition as part of the proposed “Redcatch Quarter” redevelopment project, which could see hundreds of new homes built on the site. Elsewhere in the UK, similar transformations are already underway — including Club 3000 in Leith, where plans have been approved to convert the former bingo hall into student flats. Such projects highlight a growing trend of repurposing bingo venues as part of wider urban regeneration efforts.
However, Club 3000 Bingo is not waiting for redevelopment in order to keep operating. Instead, it has acquired a site at 37 Hartcliffe Way in Bedminster, a former commercial yard previously used by Vanbase and Enterprise, and plans to build a purpose-built, state-of-the-art bingo club on the site.
Club 3000 Bingo founder Brian Fraser spoke about his excitement about the new venture:
“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.”
The proposed site is around two miles from the current Knowle location and offers improved accessibility and modern facilities.
Plans for the new venue include 144 car parking spaces, designated spots for blue badge holders, electric vehicle charging points, and extensive landscaping to improve the site’s appearance and minimise disruption to nearby homes on Wimborne Road and Hastings Road. A spokesperson for the company explained that the site has good existing bus services and a pedestrian crossing 25 metres from the entrance. Furthermore, Parson Street Railway Station is approximately 500 metres away, and there is a cycle lane along Hartcliffe Way which passes directly by the new site.
Although the club is eager to break ground, construction is not expected to begin immediately. Fraser explained:
“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.”
During Club 3000 Bingo’s transition, it will be forced to close its Bristol operation, but the company is doing its best to help the community keep playing. There are plans to run bus services twice a week to the clubs in Cardiff and Cwmbran, and members will also be able to play online.
Fraser said that they are aware that there is going to be a disruption for players and that they will do their best to have things up and running again as soon as possible.
Club 3000 Bingo began in 2006 with just one location and has since grown into the UK’s largest independent bingo operator with 24 clubs across England, Scotland, and Wales. While the closure of the Knowle venue will mark the end of bingo in an area that once had four thriving halls, with the new venue on the horizon, Bristol’s bingo players have everything to look forward to.
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