THE former Palais de Danse and Ikon dance club will be demolished by the end of the year.

The building was home to the iconic Bolton dance hall and favourite nightclubs – including Ikon, Ritzy’s, Cinderella Rockerfellas and Jumping Jacks.

Developers Moorgarth were given approval in December to demolish the building and build a hotel and car park on the site. However, the future of the site is now uncertain as the company has revealed the operators for the hotel had pulled out.

Chief executive Tim Vaughan said: "We are looking at the possibility of preserving some artifacts from the front of the building. We won't know if it is possible until we start work on the front but where we can, we will try and incorporate it into the future scheme.

"It is not easy. The building has been there for a while and we cannot take it down brick by brick, it doesn't necessarily come out like that, but the contractors are aware of what the planning consent says and we are doing what we can to preserve artifacts.

"Once the demolition is complete we have to make the area safe and have a number of options and opportunities we are looking it for its future."

Prior to the demolition, contractors have been clearing the building at the corner of Bridge Street and St George’s Road in preparation and the work on the demolition started at the end of last month.

The work is expected to take up to 12 weeks but Mr Vaughan said they could not reveal what the options are for the future of the site once the demolition is completed.

The Ikon building was originally built in the 1920s as the Astoria Palais de Danse — a dance hall which existed on the site through to 1979.

The Save the Bolton Palais had objected to the plans and campaigned to have the building restored – complete with Palais de Danse facade – and turned into an dance hall and arts centre.

However, a bid to have it listed was turned down and permission was granted for the demolition to make way for a proposed 150-bed hotel and 400-space car park – complete with roof-top bar – by the owners of the redeveloped Market Place Shopping Centre.

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Founding member Maggie Gallagher said: "All members of our groups and the thousands of people who has signed our petition are undoubtedly devastated to finally realise our famous Bolton Palais is about to be demolished.

"We fought this fight for over two years without success, it's heartbreaking not to have been able to save our fabulous iconic building that's touched thousands of lives for over half a century.

"The last dance is over for Bolton Palais but we as former members have our memories that will never ever be taken away from us.

"This is a sad time for us all and a sad time for Bolton."