A derelict seaside hotel could be demolished before the end of the year and another building put up in its place.

Beeston Regis-based Huddies Ltd received planning permission to redevelop the Shannocks hotel site in Sheringham on October 25 last year.

The former hotel has sat vacant on High Street for more than 10 years and has been dubbed an eyesore.

Huddies Ltd has now applied to remove a condition of the planning permission to allow the demolition of the building prior to submission of details of the construction contract.

In its planning application, it states that it 'wishes to demolish the Shannocks as soon as possible to enable the thorough site investigation which will generate fully resolved tender documents and a robust construction contract'.

Huddies' spokesman Harry Roper said: 'The company has a full team of property professionals and building consultants currently working towards issuing tender documents in the coming weeks and remains fully committed to realising its vision for the former Shannocks hotel.

'The reason we are applying for removal of this condition is to facilitate an effective ground investigation that will allow us to design the replacement structure's foundations as soon as possible.'

Since approval of Huddies' application, North Norfolk District Council's (NNDC) own scheme to redevelop the site has also been given the go-ahead. But a Huddies spokesman said the council's alternative proposals were a purely academic exercise and had no impact on its plans.

The council has been in a long-running battle with Huddies over the future of the former hotel and took the company to court in 2016 for failing to comply with a notice to improve the run-down building.

And earlier this year the council's legal team, Eastlaw, warned Huddies it was moving too slowly, so NNDC's own proposal to compulsorily purchase the land and redevelop the site reached committee stage.

The NNDC plan for the site has a larger footprint than Huddies' plans, which would retain the Chequers car park.

The Shannocks, which was built around the turn of the 20th century, was originally known as the Sea View Hotel.