Co-Op building in West End is "a disgrace" says councillor

Thursday, 28 April 2022 17:09

By Greg Lambert @greglam72

The Co-Op building on Regent Road in the West End of Morecambe

A West End councillor says she is "ashamed" of the state of a local eyesore which she has described as a "disgrace".

Councillor Janice Hanson has hit out at the state of the boarded-up Co-Op building on Regent Road in Morecambe.

Councillor Hanson (pictured), a Labour councillor for Harbour ward, was speaking at a Lancaster City Council meeting at Morecambe Town Hall on Wednesday.

"It's a disgrace. I'm ashamed to say it's in my ward," she said of the building, which is owned by the council.

"The amount of years it's been like that. Can you address this, and address it quickly?

"Us in the West End feel like second class citizens. We've had to look at that building for years."

Replying, Councillor Tim Hamilton-Cox, cabinet member for sustainable economic prosperity, said that a group called The Good Things Collective had put in bids for grants from the Arts Council and other bodies, with an outcome due very soon.

The Good Things Collective, formerly known as The Exchange Creative Community CIC, is campaigning to transform the building into a creative community space.

They have been working alongside Lancaster City Council, West End Morecambe Big Local, Creative West End and the Architectural Heritage Fund to raise the funds to redevelop it into a community enterprise hub.

We have contacted The Good Things Collective for comment.

The Co-Op building was constructed in 1927.

Also known as Centenary House, it was home to the popular Co-Op department store for years.

Part of the building today is home to the Co-Operative convenience shop.

But the rest is in a dilapidated state and hasn't been used for more than 20 years.

The building has been included in Councillor Hamilton-Cox's annual report, on an "asset management and development" list.

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