A COUNCIL building dedicated to the late Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher will be used as a day centre for the elderly for six months before being demolished later this year.

Two days after the Iron Lady passed away from a stroke Southend Council agreed to a change of use of part of the empty office block in Victoria Avenue, Southend, as a temporary base for Club 60 which has 300 over 50 members.

The club had been left without a base after having to move from Queensway House, in Essex Street, Southend, which is also to be demolished, and a deal to move into Dencora Court, in Tylers Avenue, fell through earlier this year.

Margaret Thatcher House was deemed surplus to requirements in 2011 and was vacated by council staff last November.

John Lamb, deputy leader of the council, said: "Margaret Thatcher House is at the end of its life, and no longer fit for purpose. The site will be redeveloped, but as yet there are no plans as to how.”

He said any new development on the site was likely to feature Mrs Thatcher’s name in her honour.

The three-floor block sits behind the Civic Centre in Southend and was built in the 1980s.