Norwich Bingo Hall Closes Unexpectedly

Wednesday, May 3rd, 2011 - Alfie Williams

A Norwich bingo hall has now closed its doors for good, after being shut down only temporarily due to some repairs that had to be completed. The change was only supposed to keep the hall out of commission for a couple of weeks, but the building’s poor physical state has forced the operators to shut the bingo hall down for good. 

Representatives for the bingo halls operator stated that the decision to shut the hall down was a difficult one. The repair bill had climbed far beyond the operator’s expectation and they simply could not afford to pay the bill. 

The hall itself enjoyed an interesting life. The building was constructed in 1932 and opened as The Carlton. Several years later, it was converted into a cinema, where the Rolling Stones played a show in 1973. Shortly after this, it was made into the bingo hall it is most commonly known as. 

This is an unfortunate situation for the hall’s employees and regular patrons. Unfortunately, this seems to be another result of the high bingo taxes and smoking ban. Because of this, land-based bingo halls have lost a great deal of business and revenue. If the hall had continued to operate a full capacity, it is likely that the operator could have afforded to pay its repair bill. Unfortunately, that was not the case, and the hall is now up for sale.