AN HISTORIC building at the centre of an inheritance row could now become a hotel, offices, or a private home, according to the buildings trust which controls it.

Bosses at the Rural Buildings Trust, who have signed a 51-year lease for the Grade II listed Ashmeadow house in Arnside, say they must drop plans for a community business centre because they have failed to gain the backing of the parish council for a lottery bid.

They say they will now be advertising for someone to use Ashmeadow.

Controversy has long surrounded the fate of Ashmeadow and its grounds, which were gifted by the late John Barnes to a trust for the benefit of the people of Arnside.

Last year, Rural Buildings Trust (RBT) bosses took court action to enable them to sign the lease with the executors of John Barnes's will, who own the building.

In 1999, RBT was turned down for a Heritage Lottery Fund grant to turn Ashmeadow into a village business centre, and bosses had hoped to apply again.

However, they say they need the support of the parish council.

Projects director of the Rural Workspace and Housing Association, which is managing the project for the RBT, Simon Drummond-Hay, said: "It's quite clear that we cannot proceed with the community business centre now.

We need the support, particularly from the parish council, therefore we are looking at our other alternatives.

"It might revert to a private residence, it might be offices, a hotel, divided into flats, a nursing home, the list goes on."

Mr Drummond-Hay said RBT's preference was still for an element of community use at Ashmeadow.

The original lottery bid had been turned down for a "number of reasons" which they could address, he added.

Arnside Parish Council chairman Ken Hargreaves said they had rejected the request for backing partly because the RBT's first lottery bid was turned down because of doubts over the project's financial viability, and also because they have not been allowed to see a copy of the lease.

The parish council is also interested in being involved in the future of the building.

Coun Hargreaves said: "The sort of commercial uses they are now proposing seem to us to be different to the spirit of the will of John Barnes."

Chairman of the Friends of Ashmeadow John Ladell said they had also declined to support RBT's lottery bid, and had been working on plans for the use of the house.