Plans to transform the 120-year-old Methodist Central Hall building on Corporation Street into a 150-bed hotel, along with bars and restaurants, were approved by Birmingham City Council in 2022.However, the consented schemes backer, Irish hospitality group Press Ups UK company, Creative Cedar, has since entered receivership.According to Companies House documents seen by the AJ, the building has since been handed over to London-based receivers Damian Webb and Christopher Lewis by Dublin-based lender AHG Properties.AdvertisementPress Up, which operated venues with sister company Oakmont, the project developer, blamed its debts on the Covid pandemic and Russias war against Ukraine, as well as VAT, as Irish outlet The Journal reported in September.The same report said Oakmount had recently sold off The Dean hotel chain, which was set to operate at the Methodist Central Hall following its conversion. The overhaul was initially earmarked to complete this year.Heritage campaigners told the AJ that the derelict building, which is on Historic Englands at risk register, was now at further risk of degradation following the delay to the TODD scheme, which is now in doubt.Joe Holyoak, chair of the Victorian Society's casework team for Birmingham and West Midlands, said that, while TODDs approved scheme was not perfect, the hotel and leisure-led proposal was the best, in that it had the least impact on the existing fabric, both internally and externally.Holyoak continued: The building is, admittedly, a difficult conversion to make, with a very fine, steeply-raked hall at its centre, of great distinction. It has been at risk for a long time, and this news puts it even more at risk. It is a prominent building, a distinctive landmark and a very important element of the Steelhouse Conservation Area.AdvertisementTODDs proposal would have seen the building, completed in 1904 to designs by Ewan Harper & James A Harper, revamped inside and out with the creation of food and drinks units, meeting rooms, a gym and shopping units on the ground and basement levels, with 155 hotel rooms above. Additionally, the auditorium would have been restored into an events space.The venue once had capacity for 2,000 members of the citys Methodist population and, from 1989 to 2017 was used as a nightclub and hosted the popular Birmingham Techno venue the Que Club.Press Ups sister company Oakmount later purchased the site and appointed TODD to draw up plans, with Heyne Tillet Steel working as building surveyor.TODD said in a statement to the AJ: We are disappointed at the news. This was a project that we were excited about realising, having obtained planning and listed building consent and prepared initial tender documentation alongside our design team partners.We remain hopeful that another developer will see potential in securing the future of a wonderful building within the Steelhouse Conservation Area.Birmingham City Council and Press Up have been contacted for comment.