Low level station casino in doubt

Wolverhampton's historic Low Level station will be "mothballed" in February if no buyers put in a bid, developers said today after no casino firms came forward.

The restored station was supposed to become a £6million casino, but Claremont Leisure pulled out at the 11th hour in September.

The building is now on the market with property bible Estate Gazette. The stall in negotiations came despite more than two years of painstaking restoration work to bring the site back to its former glory.

Oswin Developments spokesman Jonathan Cox said: "We are still on site working on the flooring and will be there until February.

"Nothing has moved forward in the last month so we will concentrate on marketing in the new year. If no buyer comes forward by the time we finish the flooring then the site will be effectively mothballed.

"Everything will be concentrated on finding an occupier."

Workers are installing new concrete and timber floors as part of a £150,000 project.

The three-month job was due to be carried out by Claremont, but was passed back to Oswin.

Workers spent more than two years restoring the inside of the ticket office and surrounding rooms to how they would have looked 150 years ago.

Security guards have been drafted in to protect the site after bosses said it would probably be "trashed within hours."

The gambling hub was set to be one of the final projects at the £35 million development of the site, bordered by Wednesfield Road and Sun Street, which also includes homes, a hotel and restaurant.

More than £400,000 has been spent on replastering the booking hall alone, as Oswin follows guidelines for listed buildings.