Stoke-on-Trent: Bingo row sees estate demand return of full house

Residents have been trying to get the bingo club re-started since January

People in one of the most deprived areas of Stoke-on-Trent have accused the council of not caring about their community amid a row over bingo.

Residents of the Bentilee housing estate have been trying to get their bingo night at the local community centre re-started since January.

Before Covid-19, more than 100 people regularly attended, with many saying it was their only time to socialise.

But the council said it did not have enough people to staff the event.

The nights were organised by Brookhouse and Ubberley Village Forum and the room hire was free but Stoke-on-Trent City Council ran the bar, retaining the profits.

It said because of the staffing issue, the event - normally every Thursday - could not be re-started.

Stephen Funnell said the bar had been emptied and was dormant

Bentilee was known as Europe's largest council estate when it was built in the 1950s and the latest data from the Office of National Statistics named the area the poorest in Stoke-on-Trent.

Appealing for the issue to be resolved, local Labour councillor Stephen Funnell said: "Councillors came down in January and they assured me they'd try to sort it out."

Barry Hardy said the council did not care about the community

Barry Hardy, who helped run the evening, said 120 people attended the final night, with payouts of £1,000 not uncommon.

"The council just don't care. They don't care about the community," he said.

Sarah-Jane Colclough says things "are really, really difficult" for people on the estate

Sarah-Jane Colclough, who lives on the estate and works for a foodbank charity, said: "It's really important to build that community spirit between each other, everyone's been so isolated that you just need to make those personal connections again."

Stoke-on-Trent City Council said it had tried to recruit more staff without success but added the centre was open for community use during the day.