Meet the women behind plan to transform Kettering's former bingo hall into community hub

When Beccy Hurrell and Lindsey Atkins read that Kettering’s former Gala Bingo hall was back on the market last month, they couldn’t quite believe it.

They had previously dreamed of owning it but were not in a position to take on such a big project – until now.

Within weeks they’ve formulated a plan to turn it into a space that the town can be proud of again through their community interest company, BHVA Axis Hub CIC.

They want to transform the historic High Street building into a community hub with a gig venue, cafe, shops and more. Today they are revealing their hopes for the site – and they’re appealing to the public to get involved and back them.

Beccy said: “We're doing it for Kettering and we need Kettering to support us."

Their plan – which Beccy said would cost in the region of £5m – is dependent on grants, match funding and fundraising and work is already under way to raise the cash they need.

If successful they hope to purchase the building by the end of the year, open the first part within two years and have the whole area in use in about five years.

They want to make it a safe space where people can grow and flourish, through not just the arts but by being a space where people can get help.

Their overall plans include a space for gigs and performances, a community cafe that turns into a bar in the evening, soft play, shops and spaces for workshops and businesses, as well as holding clinics to help people in areas including health, employment and law. They say the idea is that it would pay for itself with people paying to use the space.

Lindsey said: "When it was first built it was a community hub that people were excited to come to. To have a building in the centre of town that people are proud of and want to be part of is so important for social cohesion. We've both come from quite troubled and wobbled backgrounds and we've found our happy place and our grounding in Kettering.

"People slag it off but we think it's got a lot to offer. It's been our safe space so to provide that for others and celebrate the town would be great.”

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. That year it was bought by London-based Nagrecha Brothers Limited for £570,000.

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.

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

Last month its owners notified council bosses of their intention to sell it, with BHVA Axis Hub CIC applying to trigger the moratorium.

And despite not owning the building yet Beccy said they’ve already got people wanting to open or perform there.

She said: “The conversations that we are having already with different organisations and different interested parties say we will have the support and we will be able to fill that space."

Beccy and Lindsey, who met when they moved to Hanwood Park in 2017, also run arts hub Beccy Hurrell Voice & Arts Limited in The Yards.

Because they are hoping to buy the former bingo hall through the separate CIC it would be locked as an asset for the community. They also want the project to have a community board.

Lindsey added: “Across the country High Streets are in decline. This can really bring people back into Kettering and create that sense of community again. The repurposing of that building and refitting and growing it again just brings everything back to what we want to do with people.

"We want to build them up from where they're at and get them to reach their potential and that building is just an absolute symbolic way of doing that."

They now need people to come forward with pledges of services or donations, messages of support and stories or pictures from the building’s past.

People can sign up and donate by visiting www.axishub.co.uk or email their thoughts to [email protected].