Thumbs down for new Morecambe restaurant vision

Lancaster City Council planners have turned down a scheme to convert the Queens into a bar/restaurant with five bedroom hotel.

The council said the plans would cause harm to the Grade II listed building, which has been closed for almost two years.

Applicants Marine Drive Properties want to create 40 jobs by renovating the former night-spot on the corner of Queen Street and Marine Road Central.

But plans for a new three-storey rear extension and a second floor side extension with balconies have caused concern at the town hall.

A council spokesman said: “We provided the applicant with advice prior to them submitting the planning application. Regrettably that advice has not been followed, resulting in a scheme that would irreversibly harm the listed building. We have indicated to the applicant that there is potential to amend the scheme that they are proposing; however the design approach needs to be far better.”

We contacted Garstang-based architects Graham Anthony Associates, representatives of Marine Drive Properties Ltd, for a comment but had received no reply as we went to press.