Last call for historic bingo hall

by Max Colchester

AFTER nearly 50 years Islington's historic Mecca bingo hall on Essex Road is to call its last number, leaving its 49,000 members in the lurch.

Rank, Mecca Bingo's parent company, has blamed the impending smoking ban for its decision to close the hall on March 25.

The company estimates that between 50 and 70 per cent of its customers smoke, and that the financial impact of the July 1 ban will result in a significant fall in business.

Already the company says that revenue has dropped 15 per cent in Scotland where the ban has been in place since last year.

Lesly Hughes, a spokesperson for Rank, said: " We don't want to have to close our bingo halls but we have no choice.

"Currently the government taxes our industry twice. This costs the industry £85m a year. Coupled with the smoking ban, this is reducing profits. As a result, we have to have to look at which areas are no longer commercially viable. The Essex Road Mecca was one of those."

But Labour Councillor Joan Coupland, said: "It's wrong for them to look at the effect the smoking ban has had on bingo halls in Scotland and say that just because people cannot smoke they are not going to come. I think they are just using that as an excuse."

Despite announcing an operating profit of £72m for its bingo enterprise, the company is still going ahead with its plans to cut 200 jobs and save £10m.

Rank explained that the Essex Road branch was chosen because of the close locality of another bingo hall at Hackney. Another issue was the fact that, as the hall is a grade two listed building and former cinema, it costs more to maintain.

The Islington hall is hoping to transfer its 30 staff to other halls.

Hughes said: "We will do everything we can to relocate them to different premises." One of the
managers at the Essex Road Mecca admitted he was worried about his future. He said: "At the moment I am not sure where we are going to go. It is all a bit uncertain."