Carlisle’s lesbian and gay headquarters has moved to new premises leaving an iconic building in the city centre empty.

The centre, which was based on Fisher Street, is now on Victoria Place, opposite the Ex-Services Men’s Club.

Pam Eland from Pride in North Cumbria (PiNC) said: "The new premises are better because they are more accessible. There are no stairs so we are accessible for wheelchair users.

"It’s also cheaper than the other building. The running costs are lower so it’s better value. It’s about the same distance from the city centre as our old premises so it’s six and two threes on that score really."

A number of charities use the facilities offering health, advice, counselling, campaigning as well as social and support services.

Pam said: "The centre is primarily used by Cumbria Pride and PiNC. It is also home to the anti-bullying campaign and it’s a third party hate crime reporting centre."

The Sticky Bits cafe which operated from Fisher Street is not yet in operation at the new premises.

Pam said: "We still do teas and coffees but I’ve got to apply for a licence to have a cafe."

The centre first opened in 2013 in a building formerly used as the Front Page and Melting Pot nightclubs. It used to have a nightclub underneath - called Regency - but this has since closed.

Pam said: "We’ve grown since then. LGBThq is not only a unique venue in Cumbria, but it is one of the few drop-in community centres of its kind in the whole of the UK.

"We’ve pioneered a combined multi-charity and multi-agency approach to supporting lesbian, gay, bi, trans, intersex, asexual and all other people in Cumbria.

"With our new facilities, we’ll be expanding our services, to effectively tackle issues facing our community in the years to come.”

The centre will have an official opening on March 31 when people who use the services, friends and family will be invited.

The Melting Pot opened as a nightclub in 2010 but was ravaged by fire after five weeks and forced to close.

The cause was a faulty fridge.