The Harrogate bingo club in Skimpot Road, Lucky Numbers bingo club to be precise, was very recently under a demolition order. Developers already had a planning application in place to pull down the building and erect eight flats and a shop. However the application had received a number of objections and Mark Williams, the Planning Officer recommended that the building be saved as it had historic significance. This resulted in the earlier planning application being withdrawn.

I have to say that when I read this, I let out a huge sigh of relief, quite simply because the destruction of these historic cinemas, turned bingo hall seems to have reached epidemic proportions and I can’t help believing that every time one is destroyed, we are losing a little bit of English cultural history. Bingo has played a huge role in the development of a culture in the UK and when these buildings are pulled down for reasons of avarice it is a really sad event. I really hope that the saving of the Lucky Numbers Bingo Club building will set a precedent and we wont see any more of these old, yet beautiful buildings falling prey to the demolition teams.