by staff reporter

Published at 05:19, Friday, 21 August 2009

PLANS for a retirement village on the site of the landmark Skinburness Hotel are moving forward.

If proposals go ahead, the 130-year-old hotel built by leading Cumbrian architect Charles Ferguson will be demolished.

Developers NorthStar Capital Projects have been in talks with Allerdale Council planners this week.

The plan could see a complex of flats, bungalows and a care home on the site.

NorthStar development director Danny Sharpe told The Cumberland News: “We have done our ecology studies and archaeological studies and our plans are ready to be submitted now. But it depends on how the talks go. We want to have everything clear so there are no question marks.”

The hotel has lain empty since 2006 when it was repossessed after former owners Adrian and Vanessa Moore, of County Durham were declared bankrupt.

At auction last December, System Cycle Ltd, a holding company for NorthStar, bought the hotel for £450,000.

Allerdale inspectors have been monitoring the property after concerns were raised over its dilapidated state.

An Allerdale Council spokesman said: “The council has been in communication with the new owners of the Skinburness Hotel, Silloth, about some security issues on the site. The building is not currently classed as a dangerous structure, however a further inspection is scheduled.

“The property does appear to have fallen into a dilapidated state which could now potentially warrant the use of Section 79 of the Building Act 1984.”

This gives local authorities the power to deal with dilapidated buildings by requiring an owner to repair or demolish a structure deemed detrimental to the area.

Published by http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk