Kentish Express Ashford & District
Bingo hall plans set to be revealed
Bosses behind the controversial redevelopment of the former Mecca Bingo hall say they will be able to issue an “exciting” update early this year.
Ashford Borough Council appointed ‘specialist developer’ Milligan in the summer to help build its bold Lower High Street scheme.
Early plans first unveiled in February 2019 include demolishing the rear of the site and turning the Vicarage Lane car park into a public square featuring an outdoor cinema screen.
But council leader Cllr Gerry Clarkson (Con) hinted at a recent cabinet meeting that more details are still to be revealed.
He dismissed calls for the 1936-built hall to be turned into a theatre, adding: “I think you might be pleasantly surprised with what Milligan hopes to do with the Mecca Bingo site.”
When asked for more detail on Cllr Clarkson’s comments, an authority spokesman told the Kentish Express: “The council continues to work with its appointed consultants on developing exciting proposals for the scheme and we will be able to provide an update early in the new year.”
Milligan - which was involved in the construction of the town’s Designer Outlet 20 years ago - has offices in London and Barcelona and has been behind scores of regeneration projects.
In 2018, ABC paid £1.8m for the bingo hall - which previously housed an Odeon cinema - and revealed its early plans for the Lower High Street spot in a public consultation in February 2019.
But its proposed scheme - officially called Odeon Square - has faced fierce opposition, with campaigners calling on the authority to turn the site into a theatre rather than knocking the majority of it down.
In 2019, a request by the Cinema Theatre Association to have the building listed was rejected, allowing the council to continue to develop its plans.
If the Vicarage Lane car park does get built on, the authority is looking to offset the lost spaces by constructing a huge multi-storey car park in Station Road.
Last year, ABC had put the brakes on a number of multi-million pound projects - including the Mecca scheme - after the first lockdown left a £4.5m gap in its finances.