A CANCER charity has lost out on the chance to cash in big time on the sale of a famous Victorian Ilkley building.

The Ardenlea Marie Curie Centre on Queen's Drive is due for closure next year and the building has been put on the market by the charity.

But a conservation watchdog has stepped in to prevent the 125-year-old building being bulldozed by developers to make way for executive housing.

Following an application from Bradford Council and Ilkley Parish Council, Ardenlea has been spot-listed by the Government's Department of Culture Media and Sport.

The Grade II status will ensure the conservation of the building's shell and other important structures on the site such as the stone gateway.

This means that any development of the site will be severely constrained, reducing the selling price substantially.

Ilkley parish councillor Kate Brown said: "We wrote to the Department of Culture Media and Sport asking if Ardenlea could be considered for listing and they wrote back asking us to take some photographs and send them to them."

Coun Brown said that she was pleased to receive a notification shortly afterwards that the building had been listed.

"It is good news for the town but not good news for Marie Curie. They won't be very pleased but in view of the way things are being demolished in Ilkley, we wanted to protect the original buildings," said Coun Brown.

Conservation campaigners have also applied to have other Ilkley buildings officially listed including the open air swimming pool and the Craiglands Hotel, on Cowpasture Road but they are still waiting to hear of any decision.

The move is part of a wider campaign to stop developers demolishing old Ilkley buildings and putting new ones in their place. There is also a campaign to increase the size of the town's Conservation Area and produce a Design Statement for Ilkley.

Government officials are thought to have acted quickly in the case of Ardenlea because it was already on the market.

Marie Curie decided to close Ardenlea, which has been the local hospice since 1963, and relocate to a new £5.2 million centre in Bradford now being built. The money raised from the sale of Ardenlea has been earmarked to help pay for the new Bradford centre.

Marie Curie officials have confirmed that the Listed building status will affect the selling price of Ardenlea with developers allowed only to refurbish the existing shell into apartments rather than clear the site and build new houses.

Sheena Bradley, Ardenlea Centre Director, told the Gazette that the listing of the building was good news for the town but a financial blow for Marie Curie.

She said: "We are not happy about it because we feel it may well affect the sale price. I think for the people of Ilkley it is very nice that it won't be razed to the ground and the character of the neighbourhood will be retained."

Miss Bradley said that it was good news for people who had worked at Ardenlea and grown to love the building but it would make it more difficult for the charity to raise the £5.2 million for the new Bradford centre.