A plan to transform a site that formerly housed a British Legion Club into a residential village for over-55s has been withdrawn.
The vision that was submitted to Copeland Borough Council outlined the proposal for a large housing village consisting of 46 dwellings in all.
The scheme was to be formed of 11 bungalows and a further 35 apartments, situated on what is currently a cleared site located centrally within the village of Distington.
The British Legion Club was originally located on the site, but this building was demolished a number of years previous.
The site has not been built upon in the time since its demolition. 
The applicant had stated in planning documents submitted to the council: “The new development proposed for the Legion Land is a unique opportunity for a significant project of community led homes. DBL Ltd’s vision is to turn this wasteland in the centre of our village into a high quality housing development. 
Developers also vowed that the development would become set an example for future schemes.
“We want to build innovative, state of the art, dementia friendly and future proof housing for the over 55s. The development will enable residents to stay in their village rather than having to move out of area for appropriate housing. It will enable people who have, or had a local connection to Distington, to return to the village.”
They added: “It will also put Distington on the map for innovative housing, not just for local residents but also those from a wider area.”
With the withdrawal, the push from Copeland Borough Council to provide new housing that is suitable for the area’s “changing demographics” has been landed a blow.
The development would have formed part of the Copeland Core Strategy which recommends new housing that caters for the changing demographics within the local and wider area. 
The strategy states there is a need for "more older person housing to facilitate fluidity allowing for down sizing and a release of larger properties for larger families”.