MEMBERS of one of Blackpool's oldest clubs have been shocked and angered by the announcement this week that part of it has been sold off.

The Citizen has been approached by members of Marton Institute who say that the first they knew of the sale was when a small notice was put on display in the foyer over the weekend (August 19/20).

And now they are furious that the committee has secretly voted to sell-off part of the club, which was built soley for "the people of Marton".

It opened its doors in 1897 and was built by benevolent business man and unoffical Squire of Marton, John Picken Dixon.

Ian Warhurst, a member of the club, said he had not heard of the club's plans. "Nobody has informed me. I do not know anything about it and I was in the club last week."

Another woman member, whose husband is a life member, told us: "There have been rumours now for months but we have been told nothing officially.

"Somebody said it had been sold to build flats on it.

"It's not right. Marton Institute was built for the community -- for the young men of Marton -- and the land belongs to its members.

"There are some new members of the committee that have not been here more than five minutes and they are now selling the club from under us," she said.

One of the club's 2,500 members said that he had heard the land was not sold to the highest bidder at £200,000, rumoured to be made by a large construction company, but for £180,000 to a company called Atkinson P H and Son which has previously carried out maintenance work at the institute. Club president Mr Harold Moore was reluctant to talk about the sale of the land and refused to disclose who the land had been sold to.

Initially he also stated that the land and tennis courts were "derelict" and "unusable", although later conceded that some of the members might use the pavilion for table tennis.

But members say the tennis courts were used last year and the year before.

When asked why he had not consulted members of the club about the proposed sale, Mr Moore said: "This was not a decision made by just me.

"This was a decision from the whole club committee. We do not need to inform the members of what the committee decides."

Mr Moore refused to comment on who the land was sold to, or the amount it was sold for.

He did confirm that there were three offers on the table and the committee sold to "what was technically the highest bid."