Bingo is coming back to Southport, with a new venue on Lord Street.
LOL Bingo has submitted two renewed planning applications to Sefton Council to convert the former Lavish Home store at 229 – 231 Lord Street, on the corner of Scarisbrick Avenue and near The Scarisbrick Hotel, into a bingo lounge.
The site has been vacant for the past 18 months.
In their submission they said: “Bingo has been a staple offering on Southport’s’ Lord Street for many years (on both sides of the road).
“However, the permanent closure in April 2021 of Mecca Bingo in the aftermath of Covid-19 marked the end of an era as it did for many much loved Bingo Halls struggling to remain profitable due to reducing attendances, the smoking ban, staff and utility costs and the ever increasing competition from on-line operators.
“LOL Bingo intends to bring Bingo back to Southport. Unlike the large-scale Bingo venues, customers will be able to visit when they want, instead of being restricted to regimented times.
“This means that LOL Bingo can operate on a much smaller footprint.
“LOL Bingo offers something new and different to the people of Southport – a place to meet friends and make new ones.
“LOL Bingo currently operate bingo lounges in Manchester and Newcastle where large bingo halls have similarly disappeared and these have become small but vibrant communities in their own right, offering a social lifeline to some.
“LOL Bingo is also supported by a large number of displaced players that now need to travel to Bootle and Preston to play.”
LOL Bingo is seeking Listed building consent for internal works to strip out of the existing stud wall and installation of a new to create a compliant disabled access toilet.
Electrical works are required for gaming equipment and lighting and flooring works include the laying of new carpet and vinyl safety flooring to the toilet.
The LOL Bingo building is part of four shops with attached verandahs, which were probably built in the Victorian era around c1860-90, in different builds and with various later alterations
The firm is also seeking permission to install three externally illuminated fascia signs, one non-illuminated fascia sign and two non-illuminated double sided hanging signs.
The proposals have been designed to work within the existing fabric of the building utilising the previous tenants’ installation to give continuity with the exception of a minor change to the modern partitioning to afford access for customers to the disabled toilet.
The store layout has been designed around the existing services, where possible, to avoid alteration.
No extension or footprint increase will occur as a result of these proposals.
The scale of the proposed signage has been designed to match the building’s current signage and neighbouring designs following consultation with Sefton Council’s Planning Department.
Renovations to the verandah have been independently carried out by the landlord to ensure a good standard of maintenance to attract a new tenant and these have been carried out in accordance with the “Guide for the Maintenance and Repair of Lord Street’s Vernadahs” published by Sefton Council in collaboration with Historic England.
Contractors will be made aware of the Listed status throughout the works, and will be instructed as to the importance of retaining all historical fabric as existing.
LOL Bingo said: “The proposals provide an opportunity to ensure this building does not fall into further risk of neglect, decay or other threats particularly as high street retailing continues to decline.
“We believe the proposals will safeguard the future of the building by making it a commercially viable property within Southport.
“It will revive an important hub for the bingo-loving community of Southport on their doorstep whilst also generating employment opportunities for the foreseeable future within the area.”
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