New function room sought for Opera Bingo in Barrow

Bosses at Opera Bingo want to add 103 sq metres of additional internal space to the site to serve as a function room.

The application on the Barrow Borough Council planning portal says the new room would 'accommodate increased requirements in a post-Covid environment'.

The hall in Holker Street opened in 2019 and is owned by Graves (Cumberland) Ltd.

The design and access statement submitted as part of the application says: "Since opening, and subject to Covid restrictions, the bingo hall has been warmly welcomed into Barrow and the wider community and is a successful venture for the locally owned business.

"In considering the effects of Covid-19, there is a desire to offer a more screened space internally for larger parties who presently use the wider facilities offered by the premises."

The function room would be constructed on an 'area of former scrub land' that fronts onto Dryden Street, which is off Holker Street. 

"This area has recently been fenced and has historically been used for ad-hoc parking, rubbish dumping and has generally been unkempt," says the design and access statement.

The extension would be single storey, with the function room accessed via internal doors connecting to the main bingo hall.

The application says the new room would match the existing bingo hall in terms of internal decor and external appearance. 

Opera is one of two bingo halls in Barrow - the other being Apollo at Hollywood Park in Hindpool Road.

Opera has three other branches in Cumbria - at Carlisle, Workington and Whitehaven. Owner Graves (Cumberland) Ltd also has a bingo hall at St Helens, Merseyside.

The Barrow branch is on the site of a former Kwik Save convenience store.

The Barrow Borough Council planning portal says the application for the function room is currently at the public consultation stage. 

It says a number of residents of Shakespeare Street, which is situated off Dryden Street, have been contacted directly to inform them of the application.