DANCERS have stopped the bulldozers from moving in on the last remaining ballroom in the Lancaster district.

More than 40 members of the Astra Ballroom took to the steps of Morecambe Town Hall in protest at plans to demolish it to make way for a car park.

Lancaster City Council wanted to buy the ballroom in Green Street, Morecambe, for £160,000 but has now put the project on hold.

At a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, councillors decided it would be wrong to compulsorily purchase the property.

It postponed making a final decision on the Astra's future until a meeting next month.

The project is part of the council's regeneration scheme for the Poulton area of Morecambe, which aims to get rid of declining property to make way for better housing and landscaped open spaces.

Welcoming the verdict, regular ballroom user Roy Chapman told the Citizen the future now looked brighter for its 350 members.

"Closing the place for regeneration has been on the cards for about three years.

"It is an insult that the council wants to put a car park in place of a well used building we already have parking galore in Morecambe," says Mr Chapman.

"It is important not just to Poulton but to the area as a whole because it provides a facility for local people."

The building has been home to ballroom dancing for 15 years and professional dancer Mr Chapman says enthusiasts come from all over the country seven days a week to classes there.

The council now says it will look for an alternative venue for dancers or a new site for the car park.

Gladys Leslie-Forsythe, who bought the building just over four years ago, says she definitely does not want to sell it.

"The outside is not very eye-catching but to knock it down for a car park is ridiculous. We are willing to do it up and make it look more attractive to fit in with regeneration," she told the Citizen.

Cllr Jon Barry said that destroying a community facility made little sense.

"We are desperate for community facilities in the area and here we have something that works, so we should just leave it alone," he told the meeting.