Work is set to get under way on the site of a proposed £150m hotel and restaurant complex.

Whitehaven Developments' plans to transform the 50-acre former Alcan Pechiney factory site at Lillyhall were revealed in 2017.

The developer has now given prior notification to Allerdale council of its intention to carry out demolition work on the extrusion building to the south of the site, with work expected to start on March 1 and be completed by July 30.

The building is a steel-framed structure with a light steel roof and would be worked on using a tracked excavator.

Councillor Marjorie Rae said: "Anything is better than it standing there as a wreck and a ruin and if it makes the area look nice it's a good thing.

"My only concern would be about how it might impact on the road with traffic coming on and off the site.

"Hopefully we'll see something done soon."

The site has been rebranded as Catalyst Park and could include a budget hotel with up to 80 bedrooms and a restaurant, a 10-pump filling station with car wash facilities and a drive-through coffee shop and office space.

Simon Towers, managing director of Whitehaven Developments' Glasgow-based parent company NPL, has previously stated the project could create more than 500 jobs.

Mr Towers revealed in October that he hopes to submit a planning application to Allerdale council early this year for the leisure developments.

Whitehaven Developments, a remediation specialist, acquired the site from Rio Tinto Alcan in 2014.

Alcan Pechiney, formerly Pechiney Aviatube and before that High Duty Alloys, made aluminium parts for the aerospace industry.

The factory closed in 2007 when production was transferred to France.