LEIGH'S historic Casino Club faces demolition if new plans for the Victorian building are given the go-ahead..

The former theatre in Silk Street, Leigh, which saw The Beatles tread the boards in 1963, could be flattened to make way for housing development.

Paton House Developments Ltd, of Carlisle, are seeking planning permission from Wigan Council to topple the former dance hall and club, which closed down as Ruebens nitespot in October 2003, and build 13 flats in three and four storey units.

Last April Langar Properties, of Wilmslow, Cheshire, sought permission to bring the 19th century building into the 21st century by creating a "chameleon-type" operation.

They applied to Wigan planners to change the use of the Lord Street-Silk Street to a cafe-bar serving coffee in the morning, lunches at mid-day and becoming a bar in the evening and add windows to the exterior, but those plans fell through.

Deputy Mayor, Cllr Brian Jarvis, will be sad to see the premises demolished.

He said: "There's a lot of happy memories in that building for the people of our generation. I remember being taken to the theatre just after the war when everything was bleak and dreary and inside there it was a different world.

"Then of course came the Casino which has a long history in Leigh. We remember the days the Beatles, Hollies and top groups performed and of course the dancing.

"It later became Ruebens and unfortunately went the way of struggling clubs and pubs. There is so much choice in entertainment today if people stop going to a place that's why it closes.

"Of course the future of the building is out of our hands, if the owners don't want it as a nightclub it is up to them, but it will be a sad day for me and thousands of others to see the building razed to the ground."

The former Theatre Royal which was built in 1884 and opened the following year had 1,400 seats and was used by travelling companies. It was also known as De Castro's Theatre of Varieties after the owner Mr J Williams who was also known as De Castro.

In 1909 the management changed and music hall and films were shown there until 1954 when the building was converted to a night club.

The Casino changed to Ruebens after it was sold by the Brierley family and despite efforts to make it rock again it was forced to close.