Officers from Morecambe Town Council will be conducting an in-person survey outside the former Queens Hotel building on Marine Road between 11am and 4pm on Friday 7 June as they continue to gather evidence for an application to the Community Ownership Fund.
The Fund exists to help communities save local assets that are otherwise at risk of loss to them, with the possibility of up to £2 million of Government Levelling Up funding being granted for the purpose of restoring a historic local building for community use.
An online survey gathering the thoughts of residents about neglected and derelict buildings, the importance of historic local buildings, and possible uses for any community space, is currently live online until 14 June: https://form.jotform.com/241423299459061 However, the public consultation is entering a new phase as the Council begins to narrow down its options.
A Morecambe Town Council spokesperson said, ‘We’ve had brilliant levels of engagement with our initial online survey, having received over 600 submissions already, and the former Queens building has been referenced more than any other by members of the public in their responses. We know from early exploration that this is a building with a lot of merit when considered against the Community Ownership Fund application criteria, and the public desire to see it in use in some capacity once again is clearly strong. Therefore we now intend to focus our attention on the former Queens Hotel and look to build the evidence base specific to that building which would be required in support of an application.’
The in-person consultation event will offer members of the public the opportunity to share their memories of the building when it was open, discuss the impact of its long-term closure and state of disrepair on the town and community, and whether they believe it would be important to see it restored and open again as a community hub. It will also offer residents the chance to ask questions about the process the Council is currently going through.