Broadway Hotel flats hang in the balance

McCarthy and Stone knocked down the Broadway last December after getting planning permission to build an £11m art-deco inspired apartment block with 52 properties.

But now the future of the site is uncertain after McCarthy and Stone said they were considering their options, one of them being the sale of the site.

Morecambe Town Council has expressed continued concern about the situation and has requested that Lancaster City Council “takes action within its powers to rectify this unsatisfactory situation”.

Coun David Whitaker, chairman of Morecambe Town Council planning, development and environment committee, said: “It’s an unfortunate situation. It’s regrettable when companies landlock places and do no work on them.

“I think it’s sad that another iconic building has been lost.”

The site still has planning permission for retirement blocks, which any prospective buyer could take on.

A spokeswoman for the current developer said: “McCarthy and Stone are considering their options and one of them is the sale of the property.”

Lancaster City Council’s planning department said in a statement to Morecambe Town Council: “Discussions with a different developer, subject to land purchase, are ongoing.”