Council takes action against owners of landmark Lancaster building which is being left to rot

A Listed Building Notice was served on those with an interest in the Grade II listed Alexandra Hotel in relation to the unlawful removal of windows, Lancaster City Council have confirmed.

The council, as the local planning authority, considered the action to be expedient given the work has resulted in the ongoing deterioration of a listed building and are detrimental to its historic character.

The notice requires the original windows to be reinstated, and repaired where damage has been caused during the removal process.

The enforcement notice was issued on April 25 and will come into effect on June 1.

We reported in October how Lancaster Civic Vision had raised concerns about the state of the building, which has previously been home to The Alex nightclub and Revolution bar..

The group - previously known as Lancaster Civic Society - said it was one of a number of city centre buildings, mostly under the ownership of local property developers, which were "being neglected and allowed to fall into dereliction without realistic proposals being put forward to the city council for their development".

Officially known as The Alexandra Hall, the Penny Street building had all upper window frames removed and left open to the elements.

Planning permission to convert the property into an apart-hotel was refused by the city council in 2021, and no work has taken place on site since.