THE owner of Ulverston's iconic art deco cinema building has accepted an offer from a buyer.

The Brogden Street property - home to the Roxy Cinema and the Laurel and Hardy Museum - has been up for sale for £195,000 with agents Corrie and Co.

The agency told the Gazette the 1930s building had been sold subject to contract, and the buyer's details would remain confidential as the sale was not yet completed.

The Gazette has tried unsuccessfully to contact the owner, David Armer.

With uncertainty surrounding the building's future, the charity that runs the town's Coronation Hall, indoor market hall and street market has made a bid to have the Roxy listed as an asset of community value.

Beth Kennedy, director of Ulverston Community Enterprises, said she hoped to have a decision soon from South Lakeland District Council.

If a building is listed as a community asset, community groups are given chance to raise money and make a bid to buy it.

In a statement released before the offer on the Roxy was accepted this week, the charity said: "UCE recognises the Roxy Cinema and Laurel and Hardy Museum as having a unique role and value for Ulverston’s communities.

"As the building they are housed in is now for sale, we have submitted a nomination to SLDC for it to be registered as an asset of community value and we are investigating possible options for ensuring the continuation of these much-loved businesses that contribute so much to the life of the town."

Mark Greenhow, owner of the Laurel and Hardy Museum, said he did not know who the buyer was.

He said the property had been put on the market "a couple of years ago" and he believed the price had been dropped recently, causing "renewed interest" from potential purchasers.

"We love being in this building," he said. "It’s the perfect building for us, a 1930s cinema of the era of Laurel and Hardy."

Fellow tenant Charles Morris, owner of Northern Morris Cinemas, which includes the 1937-built Roxy, has himself had two offers on the property turned down in the past.

"It’s a traditional cinema that’s been part of Ulverston's heritage these 80 years," he said. "There’s a lot of fondness for the building."