A GROUP trying to buy a bingo hall and turn it into an entertainment venue have been told 'you've got no chance'.

Mecca Bingo says it has no intention of selling its premises in Taunton's Corporation Street.

The company was reacting to a petition set up to "reclaim" the building "for community, entertainment and arts use".

Taunton Arts Business Cultural Alliance is unlikely to get Mecca to sell the building, which was once a cineman and hosted concerts by The Beatles, David Bowie and Rod Stewart in the 1960s and 70s.

The campaign created by Andrew Knutt is appealing for support to convince the Rank Group, owners of Mecca Bingo, "to sell the building for civic, entertainment, art and cultural use" and is looking for public investment.

Its aim is to provide a 1,000-plus seat venue to develop a cultural community it believes would boost economic growth in the county town.

Mr Knutt said: "For decades Taunton has had no venue of a size that attracts big names.

"Its town centre, like many, has seen decline. The night time economy is minimal, the cultural offer is small and a high percentage of the population leave Taunton Deane to experience culture elsewhere.

"We care about this, we care about Taunton, its quality of life and its future and we know that this can be changed with an asset that used to be the civic pride of Taunton - and that is the Mecca bingo hall."

He added: "It's important we reclaim this building and make Taunton a great place for things to do and live in, that reignites the town centre and nightlife, that brings people from afar who spend money with local businesses, but more importantly brings great entertainment to Taunton and provides a hub for civic activity and a place for people to meet friends and community."

Mr Knutt's wishlist would include a programme of theatre, comedy, live music, cinema, dance hall, workshops, metting rooms, conference facilities and rehearsal space.

But Davina Warden, general manager at Mecca Bingo Taunton, has said the premises is not for sale, although she has offered to talk to Mr Knutt about the possibility of his using the building for events.

She said: "We have no plans to sell the Mecca Bingo Taunton building.

"We have a thriving bingo business in Taunton with thousands of very happy customers who visit us frequently.

"However, we do host lots of different events at Mecca Bingo Taunton, including the forthcoming Taunton’s Got Talent competition and we are happy to speak to event organisers to discuss hosting their events at our beautiful venue.

"If anyone would like to use our premises for their event, I am very happy to chat to them so please do get in touch.”

A previous attempt to turn Mecca Bingo Taunton into a 'multi-entertainment centre' in 2010 was similarly rebuffed.

Project Gaumont was told it would not happen and accused the movement of upsetting its members.