HOPES of a skate park, community gardens and heritage centre being created in a corner of Morecambe have been dashed this week.

Poulton Neighbourhood Management (PNM) has spent months talking to residents about what they would like to see done with the old fire station on Clark Street after it was put up for sale.

Lancashire's Fire and Rescue Service put the building and surrounding area on the market and invited tenders earlier this year. Purchase bids had to be submitted by December 5.

PNM, which even employed someone to carry out a consultation, attracted widespread interest from the community about the building's future use.

It made an undisclosed offer for the property with a view to developing it as community facilities.

But it has learned its bid lost out to a 'substantially higher offer'.

The successful bidder has not been officially named - though it is understood that a Morecambe-based company could be celebrating the good news.

Emma Sharples, from PNM, says: "We are really disappointed. We had done all the consultation and had plenty of ideas of what we would do with it."

Suggestions varied from residents' parking to community gardens, a skate park and a heritage centre.

She says there are no other such available buildings in Poulton, though if anything comes up in the future it will be considered.

And Emma adds: "Although we have not succeeded in purchasing the fire station, we will do all we can to ensure that any development of the site is carried out sympathetically with local people's wishes."