THE leader of Carlisle City Council remains “optimistic” that the derelict Central Plaza can be brought back into use.

The crumbling Grade II-listed building in the city centre has proved a major headache for the council, with the authority forced to intervene on public safety grounds - even though it does not own the building.

But Councillor John Mallinson insisted there was “light at the end of the tunnel” and reassured members of the economic growth scrutiny panel that at least one developer was still interested in the site.

The authority has already removed some loose stonework from the landmark, with the new leadership pledging to continue the work and fulfil their obligations to keep the building safe.

But Mr Mallinson stressed there was a limit to what the council could do to maintain and restore the building, because it does not belong to them.

He added: “I don’t wish to give people false hope, but we do have a developer that has been interested in the site for some time and they have visited it and are doing their calculations.

“We are optimistic we can bring some closure to this, but we don’t really know what is salvageable – and even whether the building itself is at all salvageable is open to speculation.”

But the new council leadership and officers faced robust questioning from Independent councillor Robert Betton.

He insisted the leadership should be able to answer “one way or the other” whether the Central Plaza was going to be built back up again or pulled down.

But Mr Mallinson stressed it was a “very difficult issue” which the council had found itself in through no fault of its own.

He said: “It is in nobody’s interest to leave it as it is; and the bottom line is we are doing our best as our predecessors have done. There are no magic answers, but we are doing our best.”

Heritage specialists have been drafted in to carry our surveys of the building and the meeting heard that the stonework removed had been done in such a way it could be reinstated in the future.

Garry Legg, the council’s investment and policy manager, said dismantled materials from the fabric of the building were in storage to “keep that option on the table”.

Mr Legg also told the meeting any money spent on urgent work has been registered as a charge against the land, allowing the council to claw back some of its expenditure from any future owner.

The building was once a prime location for visitors to the city but after shutting in 2004, was abandoned and is ownerless and therefore subject to an unusual legal process called escheat.

This means the title to the land is held by the Crown Estate, but it is not responsible for its upkeep.

The building was in such a dangerous state, Victoria Viaduct had to be closed to both cars and pedestrians for weeks during May and June 2017.