The developer behind a £4.2 million plan to regenerate Egremont says he has been forced to shelve his proposal amid bureaucracy and backlash from Copeland Council.

The news comes days after the Red Lion and neighbouring buildings were cordoned off for public safety. They are set to be demolished but there is no long-term plan for the site once it has been levelled and made safe.

Property developer David Cox, who owns the former pub and the neighbouring former Tommy Kelly’s and The Nile properties, had been in talks with the council about a plan to build a 42-bedroom hotel on the site since 2016.

Mr Cox said the council had agreed to lease him its car park behind the site to use for guests. But, he said, officers later changed the deal, asking for double the agreed rent and refusing to give him control of the car park.

That move, Mr Cox said, forced him to look at plans for a smaller hotel with on-site parking.

However, Copeland Council denied that it had ever reached an agreement with him over the car park.

But after he submitted a revised proposal for a 32-bedroom hotel, Mr Cox said, the council issued him with section 215 notices, legal documents requiring him repair and repaint the fronts of the buildings, which are in a conservation area.

Mr Cox appealed against the notices, prompting a structural engineer to be called in to assess the buildings. That engineer has now presented his report, revealing that the front walls are structurally unsound, and the Red Lion and adjoining Which Craft shop have been cordoned off for public safety.

Work to demolish them is set to begin soon, and Mr Cox said his neighbouring buildings were likely to have to come down too, taking the total he has spent on the site so far to £600,000.

The site will be levelled and made safe, and Mr Cox expects the work to be completed by the end of April.

But he has revealed that, as a result of the difficulties he has had with the council, including opposition from elected members, he felt unable to pursue his hotel plans.

Mr Cox, who has been a property developer for nine years, said: “I’m gutted. We have gone so far with the project only to find that it’s thwarted.

“It was a commercial venture whereby we were planning to build a 42-bedroom hotel, the consequences of which would provide about 60 jobs in Egremont, regenerate the heart of the town centre, and have consequences regarding the value of properties in the area.

“It would have been the biggest project that had taken place in Egremont South ward for generations. I don’t want to pour £4.2 million into Egremont when I’m faced with such hostility.”

A council spokesman said: “We had some preliminary discussions with Mr Cox about his hotel plans, but did not agree a contract about car parking. In support of Mr Cox’s development plans, our executive committee agreed we would grant exclusive use of our Beck Green car park to the hotel, whilst we would still maintain it, enforce it and collect the parking income.

“Mr Cox’s plans did not seem to progress, the building remained dilapidated and eventually we issued section 215 notices, which require an owner to develop or improve their building. The Red Lion had been on our list of dilapidated buildings for a long time the section 215 notice was issued solely because of the poor state of the buildings.

“Separately, pre-application discussions have continued for a revised proposal, using Mr Cox’s own land for parking. We are supportive of bringing forward a suitable scheme for the site.

“The section 215 notices are now with the courts so we can not comment further on that issue.”