REGENERATION leaders want to know what will happen next at a key Beverley town centre site that has been in limbo for six years.
The former Minster Towers old people's home, which is owned by East Riding Council, was closed in 2007.
A development brief drawn up at the time by the council suggested the site could get a new lease of life.
Potential uses included a cinema, small-scale retail, a hotel, housing, a health centre and offices.
It was thought the 2.4-acre site in Lord Roberts Road, which also includes a council car park, could fetch up to £1.5m per acre.
But the site has not been sold off, with Minster Towers earmarked for temporary office use by the council.
John Bird, chairman of town regeneration group Beverley Renaissance Partnership, is now aiming to raise the future of the site at the organisation's next meeting.
Mr Bird said: "I will be suggesting we put this on the agenda and look at what could happen on this site in the longer term.
"It's a prime site in the centre of the town.
"We need to be asking what the plans for the site are."
Alan Menzies, East Riding Council's director of planning and economic regeneration, confirmed the building is earmarked for temporary office by the council.
He said: "That site was declared surplus several years ago.
"We have had a few enquiries over the years about the site. It's just a matter of timing when we go to the market. Obviously you need to pick your time when you go. In the short term, we can use it for offices."
The site is next to a former chapel, which is to be transformed into an East Riding Theatre in an ambitious project led by Beverley-based Hollywood actor Vincent Regan.
Councillor Kerri Harold, who represents the area, said: "There will be a fantastic theatre next to the old Minster Towers site.
"We have not heard anything about the surplus site but it is a prime spot in Beverley.
"It's a shame it has been left as long as it has.
"I don't have a problem with it being used for temporary offices if the council needs to do that, but we need to be selling it on when the time is right."
The Minster Towers site is allocated for "mixed uses, including retail and housing development" in the draft new Local Plan for Beverley drawn up by the council.
This means shops, a cinema or a hotel could be considered acceptable on the site.
In the meantime, the council is planning to make use of Minster Towers for temporary offices.
