Old bingo hall in Winsford will become 42 apartments

Since 2015, the historic building in Dingle Lane has been derelict and unused, while its condition has continued to deteriorate.

In February 2021, the old hall was gutted by a huge fire and, since, there have been several arson incidents on the premises.

But plans were submitted to Cheshire West and Chester Council in June 2019 to bring the building back into use as a complex of 42 one-bedroom apartments.

The proposal, which would see 12 retirement apartments created on the ground floor, will also save the front façade of the building.

And work can now start to deliver the redevelopment after the plans were given the green light by the council.

In a report recommending the proposal be approved, a council planning officer said: "The redevelopment of the site for 42 one-bedroomed apartments would provide additional housing that would make an important contribution to maintaining the supply of housing in the borough, on previously-developed land and in a sustainable location.

Winsford Top Ten Bingo in 2009 (Image: Newsquest)

"Furthermore, the site has become a significant visual scar, attracting anti-social behaviour in the locality, and the proposed development would remedy this issue.

"The proposed amount of development could be accommodated within the site without causing severe detriment to highway safety, and the design of the building is acceptable within this context.

"The scheme would not result in any undue loss of amenity to nearby occupiers."

The applicants had initially been required to make an off-site financial contribution of more than £126,000 towards open spaces, playing pitches and play areas.

But they produced a report which showed the scheme would become financially unviable should the contribution be needed.

The old bingo hall was gutted by a fire in February 2021 (Image: Newsquest)

The council officer added: "It is acknowledged that none of the apartments would be affordable and there would be no contributions to open space or The NHS Vale Royal Clinical Commissioning Group and this weighs against the development.

"However, the applicant has demonstrated the scheme would be rendered financially unviable should contributions be required.

"This would likely lead to the site remaining undeveloped and the benefits of the redevelopment of the site would not likely be realised for the foreseeable future.

"On balance, it is considered the benefits of the scheme would outweigh the identified harm."

The plans include provision for 42 parking spaces, including four disabled, cycle spaces, bin storage and recycling facilities. 

In a design and access statement submitted as part of the application, it states: "The application site is currently not in use and has been derelict since 2015 and boarded up.

The building after the February 2021 fire (Image: Newsquest)

"The roof is leaking in many areas and the inside is in an awful state of repair.

"Despite this there is a lot of local love for this old building, which was why the applicant wanted to save as much as possible and redesign its use to reflect the heritage of this local building as a new residential development.

"The proposed development aims to blend the old building with the new to create low cost market housing to high quality modern standards."

For more details search reference 19/02333/FUL on the council's online planning portal.