A CARLISLE man’s life has changed after winning £50,000 in an online competition, just days before his retirement due to ill health. Our readers had their say on the News & Star website and Facebook page.

Cracking result. Well done that man.

Take a second

Well done, happy retirement.

Doreen Kirkbride

A great way to start the year. Enjoy your retirement.

Stephen N C

Good on you mate you deserve the luck.

Peter Jones

At 60 and presumably financially sound I’d say to Steven “spend the lot mate”.

Betway have got lucky too as a big individual win is good for business.

Unfortunately when I win I only seem to ‘borrow’ it but I’m still waiting for the big one.

Spend spend spend.

Graitney

Congratulations, Lynne so happy for you both.

Anne Wright

Really well done, nice to hear a deserving couple won. Enjoy.

Sheila Ronaldson

Congratulations, so happy to hear some good news. Enjoy your winnings.

Hazel Hughes

A “good news” story at last! Congratulations, a worthy winner.

David Hogarth

Well done so pleased for you both! Congratulations.

Mandy Barnes

Brilliant news for them - and so nice to read something happy in the news!

Nicola Scullion

Great news, so pleased for you.Hope your health improves.

Mary Clare

Well done, I’m glad it has been won by someone who really needs it.

Christina Otway

More than £2.2m has been spent by Carlisle City Council on the former Central Plaza Hotel in the past two years - but a leading councillor is hopeful money can be made back when the site is sold on.

That’s only any good if some one wants to buy it, but it’s not likely if millions keep getting added to £2.26m, plus the price of the land, it will never get sold.

cufc123

I get the feeling it will sit empty for a long time with a legal charge like that on it. In the meantime watch the council tax go up.

Don McCutcheon

No one is going to pay £2.2m, the council would be better trying to claim the money from the crown seeing as it was a crown issue.

Mark Jones

Build a decent clothing shop.

Cumbrian Commenter

Put a free car park on there as a gesture of thanks for the £2.2m of our tax that this inept council wasted.

Botcherbarian

What alternative choice did they have?

JJimboo

Forget car parks, this city needs park and rides. This city is so backwards.

Do Read

How much of the building material is being recycled as they could have revenue from it. I do not think that the council had thought of that in a way to recover some of the cost. Some of the materials could have a high price.

lakelandlad

Plant a load of trees there and forget about it!

Kenneth Brownsword

Luxury apartments would be good meaning we have more people living in the city centre which helps all local businesses.

Ollytheotter

Another row of charity shops incoming.

David Tennyson

This needed intervention from Central Government years ago, John Stevenson MP should have stepped in and sorted it out. Funny how he appears when there is an election called. I can not see any record of him raising this in Parliament (happy to be corrected).

It is the local businesses I feel for, who have been hit by this issue twice. I hope they will be properly compensated and looked after.

Adam Paul

Pleased to hear this, hopefully the land will be sold to a developer with intentions to add tourism to that side of the town centre, thus increasing trade for the businesses that have suffered such losses, giving them a light at the end of the debt tunnel they have succumbed.

Laura Waters

Why not make it into a Carlisle hub. Car parking on the bottom generating income and maybe a cafe, creche, advertising boards, office/shop space (travel agents etc) generating rental income, careers advice service, benefits advice, housing advice, rehabilitation services etc all under one roof.

Melissa Sturges

Tesco extension is my guess.

Paul Bills

Build a newer Costa.

Dean Godber