Work has finally started towards demolishing a Whitehaven harbourside eyesore.

Contractors were due on site at the derelict Mark House and The Park nightclub yesterday (Tuesday) to clear the area ahead of the bulldozers moving in.

Copeland Council's planners gave the go-ahead in March for the demolition of the two buildings that have been widely described as an eyesore in the decade since they closed.

Copeland mayor Mike Starkie, who had the site on top of the council's hitlist for grotspot buildings, welcomed the progress.

He said: "It's been a long and arduous process but work commencing it is a very positive step in the right direction.

"There is a clear determination that dilapidated buildings and grotspots will be pursued and addressed as part of the town centre regeneration programme."

Mark House, a former revenue and benefits office, closed in 2004, and The Park had its last night on New Year's Eve 2005.

When it agreed to the demolition, Copeland Council ruled that the northern part of The Park building, which housed the former Whitehaven swimming and Turkish baths dating back to 1884, will be retained as a stand-alone section. Copeland's own conservation officer, in addition to the influential Historic England and Victorian Society groups, had appealed for it to be saved. The remainder of the site will be levelled out and used as a car park until a permanent development is agreed.

Plans were previously approved in 2011 for the buildings' demolition to make way for a £10 million apartment, office and retail complex but the work was never carried out.