Plans revealed for £1.2m extension and refurb of Morecambe pub

The long term future of an historic Morecambe pub is finally looking brighter after brand new £1.2m plans were revealed this week.
Photo Neil Cross Queens Hotel pub in MorecambePhoto Neil Cross Queens Hotel pub in Morecambe
Photo Neil Cross Queens Hotel pub in Morecambe

The major proposals to convert the Grade II Listed Queens Hotel into a hotel, restaurant and bar have been submitted to Lancaster City Council.

Marine Drive Properties Ltd, based in Blackburn, have applied to extend and refurbish the pub on the corner of Marine Road Central and Queen Street, with the creation of second and third floor balconies facing out across the bay, and a three storey extension at the back.

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The application states: “The site’s long term viability is one of the key drivers in securing the future of ‘The Queens’.

The Queens Hotel planThe Queens Hotel plan
The Queens Hotel plan

“To this end the applicants have explored two options – one a refurbishment costing circa £300k which left the project in the red, and secondly a substantial investment of £1.2 million which included the extensions and refurbishment, which results in a sustainable business proposition securing the long term future of the site and heritage asset.”

The proposal is for a mixed use development with a bar/restaurant and five bed hotel with function rooms.

The Queens, which was built as a hotel in 1840, has had a long history as a pub and late night venue in Morecambe over recent decades.

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It was a popular late night music destination as Pachas in the 1980s and 90s, and then reinvented itself as Baroque, before becoming The Queens Hotel again and run by John Templeman, during the 2000s.

The Queens Hotel planThe Queens Hotel plan
The Queens Hotel plan

It was then taken over by Debbie Carter, who runs The Pier, and reopened in February 2013 after a £20,000 internal refurb.

It was re-launched again as a late night venue in October 2014 by Mike Zorab, but closed again just a few months later.

The boarded up, semi derelict up pub was eventually put up for sale by its owners Star Pubs and Bars in August 2015, with a guide price of £200,000.

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The application seeks detailed planning permission and listed building consent for a high quality ‘subservient’ extension and refurbishment to the Hotel, “restoring the building back to its former glory in a way that will secure both its financial viability and the sustainability of this listed heritage asset”.