Kettering's former Gala Bingo hall could be sold off

The future of Kettering’s historic former Gala Bingo hall is up in the air after its owners launched a bid to sell the community asset.

The High Street venue has been vacant – apart from an infamous cannabis factory – since it closed in 2018 and was bought that year by London-based Nagrecha Brothers Limited for £570,000.

The Kettering Town Centre Partnership (KTCP) had it listed as an asset of community value in 2019, giving groups the chance to put together a bid if it ever went on the market.

That chance is now a reality after North Northamptonshire Council was notified of the owners’ intention to dispose of the property – but the KTCP won’t be putting in a bid.

Vice-chairman Alison Holland said: "It’s such a prime spot and a lot of people just want to see it looking nice. For a lot of people there’s a lot of nostalgia with the building. Many remember going to it as a theatre, a cinema or as a bingo hall and they have happy memories.

"It would be amazing to renovate it and turn it into a community use building but the reality is we just don’t have the money and it would be too big a job.

"It would be wonderful if another community organisation stepped forward and wanted to buy it but it’s unlikely to happen. We just hope that whoever takes it on makes it into a vibrant place for the town centre."

An initial moratorium has been triggered, giving community interest groups the chance to be treated as a potential bidder. If an eligible request is received by January 13 the sale of the building is banned until June 1 to give groups the opportunity to prepare a bid. The owners are under no obligation to accept the bid and can sell to whoever they want.

Built on a former drapery store, the site was opened as Regal Cinema on Boxing Day in 1936 by Earl Spencer. In 1947 it was taken over by Granada Theatres and hosted several concerts, eventually closing in 1974, before it was later taken over by Gala Bingo who closed it in 2018.

It made headlines around the world in June 2019 when police found a full house of 2,000 cannabis plants there, potentially worth almost £3m in value. It was later cleared and asbestos was removed.

Last year two planning applications – one which proposed a food court and another which included business units – were approved by North Northamptonshire Council but since then little work appears to have taken place.

The venue, which has an art-deco frontage, is currently listed on Rightmove with a guide price of £1.1 million.

Cllr Anne Lee (Lab, Windmill) said: “I would like to see it returned to its former glory. A building for community use would be fantastic.”

Requests to be treated as a potential bidder must be made in writing by no later than January 13 to: The Head of Asset Management, Estates Services, Corby Innovation Hub, Bangrave Road South, Corby, Northants, NN17 1NN, email [email protected].