Strachan House Care Home residents have a trip to Club 3000 Bingo
Residents and staff from Strachan House Care Home in Blackhall were in for a treat with a visit to the Club 3000 Bingo hall after residents asked to take their bingo skills out into the community.
Residents from the home were accompanied by the life enrichment staff team, they had an amazing time with 1 resident even winning one of the games bringing home £16. Ivy, one of the residents who hasn’t been to the bingo for many years said she was so excited to go and would love to go back.
Ivy refused to share her winnings with the team, sadly!
General Manager, Fran Fisher said: “Our residents and staff had a wonderful time at the Bingo, it’s something we often play here particularly on our first-floor community so it was a real treat to go out and play with other members of the local community.
“We do our best to provide a wide range of activities and entertainment at Strachan House as part of the lifestyle enrichment programme for residents, and this was one of our favourites!”
Strachan House care home is run by Barchester Healthcare, one of the UK’s largest care providers, which is committed to delivering personalised care across its care homes and hospitals. Strachan House provides nursing and dementia nursing care for 83 residents from respite care to long term stays.
Strachan House has built up an excellent reputation within its local community for regularly holding events and activities for its residents and surrounding neighbours.
Members of the public are being invited to offer feedback on plans to redevelop the bingo hall located on Leith’s Manderston Steet.
Developer Longstone (2) Limited has unveiled plans to conserve and redevelop the existing building into new student homes. This is in response to a local desire to preserve the building, located in the Leith Conservation Area, and address a ‘chronic undersupply of student accommodation in the capital’.
The proposals follow the decision by the current operators of the bingo hall, Club 3000, to move to new premises in nearby Ocean Terminal in summer 2024.
The conservation and retention of the property does restrict its potential uses and following the building’s inclusion in the Leith Conservation Area, the potential to use the site for housing was explored.
However, the building is not well-suited to a residential conversion and a viable scheme would fail to comply with many of the Council’s planning policies for new housing (for example, dual aspect dwellings and minimum open space requirements). If housing were to be delivered, it would require the demolition of the building.
The proposed use as student homes allows for the creation of a high-quality development that complies with the Council’s student housing policies, while also retaining and enhancing the elements of the building that contribute to the surrounding Conservation Area.
The existing building is in poor condition and is extremely energy inefficient. In 2020, Historic Environment Scotland (Scotland’s heritage agency) assessed the building for potential listed status and concluded that it did not meet the criteria of special architectural or historic interest.
The use of the space for student homes, will also serve to free up residential properties that otherwise would have been used by students, whose numbers in Edinburgh’s universities have grown by over 25% between 2016/17 and 2021/22 (Cushman & Wakefield Student Needs Assessment, July 2023).
The public consultation event will take place on Wednesday 17th January 2024 between 4:00pm and 7:30pm in McDonald Road Library, 2-8 McDonald Road, Edinburgh EH7 4LU.
Exhibition boards detailing the project will be available at the event, as well as from the project website (www.manderston-street.co.uk) from 9am on the day of the event.
Feedback forms will also be available, and attendees are encouraged to share their views. The form will also be available on the website and all feedback should be returned by Wednesday 31 January.
A Longstone (2) Limited spokesperson said: “The local community has expressed a strong desire to conserve the former mill building and our plans for the site allow us to do this.
“While enhancing the character of the Conservation Area, the conversion of the building will help to relieve pressure on the local housing market. The proposals will also deliver considerable economic benefits in terms of the construction and operation of the development, and with students spending money in local shops and other outlets.
“We are keen to welcome local residents to our public consultation event and to working with them as we progress the development.”
Ocean Terminal has agreed a long-term lease with Club 3000 Bingo, the UK’s largest independent bingo operator, which will see a new purpose-built, state-of-the-art club open at the centre next year.
Once the new club is built, Club 3000 Bingo will move from its current Edinburgh venue in Manderston Street to the new 27,500 sq ft unit on the ground floor of the Leith waterfront shopping centre.
The family-run business is investing an estimated £5m in the new club to create a modern and luxurious environment that will complement Ocean Terminal’s existing mix of retail, leisure and hospitality outlets.
Following the extension of the Edinburgh Tram network to Newhaven, and at the heart of Leith’s regeneration, Club 3000 Bingo forms a part of Ocean Terminal’s major redevelopment as a ‘town centre’ for the local community.
The £250m masterplan will see the centre reconfigured, alongside new homes and public realm to maximise its unique waterfront location and fulfil local aspirations for 20-minute neighbourhoods.
Brian Fraser, Founder of Fraser Capital Management Ltd/Club 3000 Bingo, which operate 23 bingo clubs across the UK said: “We are really excited to be involved in this new project and look forward to opening our new club next year to add to our growing portfolio.
“It promises to be one of the best clubs ever developed in the UK.”
Chris Richardson, Managing Director of Ambassador Investments Ltd, the Scottish owner of Ocean Terminal, commented: “We are delighted to welcome Club 3000 Bingo to Ocean Terminal.
“Its modern approach to creating an environment for a great night out fits seamlessly with our wider leisure offering and we look forward to the club opening its doors next year. We have ambitious plans for the centre and Club 3000’s long-term commitment to Ocean Terminal is a tremendous seal of approval for what lies ahead.”
Donald Syme who acted for the landlord added: “Leith is undergoing a huge regeneration, with more housing, transport links and businesses opening up. In its new location at Ocean Terminal, Club 3000 Bingo will enjoy a growing and thriving community.
“We’re looking forward to working with Brian and his team to make this one of the best bingo clubs in Scotland.”
