The news that Buzz Bingo in Dumfries is one of nine of their 91 clubs the company look set to close across the country is a “devastating blow to staff”, according to South Scotland MSP Colin Smyth.

The closure will impact on 11 workers at the Shakespeare Street hall and will leave another building empty in Dumfries town centre following on from the closure of the Odeon cinema in 2018.

Commenting on the closure South Scotland MSP Colin Smyth said, “This news is a devastating blow to staff at Buzz Bingo and my thoughts are very much with those who sadly look set to lose their jobs. It will also be deeply disappointing for loyal customers, many of which will have attended the bingo over many years. It has been a fixture in Dumfries for many years and its loss is yet another blow to the town centre that really is on its knees. We lost our cinema in 2018 and now the bingo hall which means yet another empty building and a lower footfall in and around our High Street. The fact that the company have chosen Dumfries as one of the halls they plan to close tells it own story about the falling number of people coming into the town centre. I hope this acts as a wake up call to both our Governments who seem oblivious to the decline of our High Streets.”