Bingo Players Fight For Castle Green Car Park

July 20th, 2009

Bingo Fight for Carpark

With authorities in Taunton deciding to close down the Castle Green Parking Lot as part of a town reconstruction plan titled “Project Taunton”, bingo players in the area are not a pleased lot. They contend that it would now be difficult for them to visit the Mecca bingo hall in Corporation Street. The Castle Green Parking space is used by players at the club regularly.

When contacted for comments Ian Franklin, member of the ‘Project Taunton’ team said that these plans have been in the pipeline for over six years now and nobody had raised any objections until now. Car parking provisions have to be in line with the central Taunton Parking Strategy which has been mooted by the local authorities. The project proposes to convert the whole area of Castle Green into a large public square and activity center.

The official has also suggested that players could use alternative parking venues like the Tangier and the Crescent, both of which are hardly a minute’s stroll away from the Mecca bingo hall and also much bigger and allowing longer stay. He commented, “I understand what they are saying, but we’re providing superb facilities for central Taunton and I’m happy there’s sufficient car parking.” There are plans to improve links to Corporation Street from Crescent to enable smooth flow of traffic.

Bingo players in Taunton have come together and begun a signature campaign to prevent the demolition of the car park. Over 140 bingo players have already attested to this petition and more are expected to join in soon.

Mecca Bingo has even otherwise seen some decline in footfalls over the past few months. Closing down the car park could have a detrimental effect on their business. As General Manager Monika Borska-Ulatowska noted, “Losing the parking facilities will obviously make their visits here far less convenient, which isn’t something either we or our customers would welcome.” As such the club too has urged its patrons to join in the agitation against the closure of the parking lot.

Project Taunton intends to reshape the landscape of the town in general and more specifically areas like Firepool and Tangier, in order to transform the area into a nerve center for business in the region. The Mecca bingo hall with its classy art deco interiors and located right next to the Castle Car Park in the middle of the city is classified as a listed building and an important heritage landmark for the town.

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Bingo Players Fight For Castle Green Car Park

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