A construction firm’s financial crisis has left the future of Addingham’s new £2 million medical centre in doubt.

Administrators have been called in at Otley-based builders Lotus Construction, leaving the future of the project unclear.

Alarm bells began to ring on Friday when construction workers abandoned the site and told villagers they had been told their jobs were gone.

The only activity at the large building site behind the Memorial Hall this week was the removal of heavy plant equipment.

At the company’s offices in West Chevin Road, administrators from the Leeds branch of Ernst & Young were sifting financial documents to see if the company could be rescued.

The man financing the project, village GP Dr Adil Suleman, remained determined that the new facility would get built.

He said: “I understand that Lotus Construction have gone into administration. I am taking advice from my professional team on how best to proceed. I am determined the medical centre will be completed.”

Parish council vice-chairman Ian Taylor said: “It is too early to tell what precisely this would mean for the future of the medical centre project.

“The contractual arrangement for the construction of the medical centre is, of course, between Dr Suleman and Lotus Construction.

“Obviously, the parish council hopes that construction will continue, and we will be contacting Dr Suleman to clarify the situation and, if necessary, offer any reasonable assistance that we may be able to provide to help achieve that.”

Building work on a school in Calderdale was also halted by Lotus Construction on Friday last week. Luddenden Foot Junior School had been undergoing work to create a new extension.

Lotus Construction, which had an annual turnover of £19m, was the subject of a £2.6m management buy-out in 2006. The company was founded in 1993 by Richard Lumley and Tracey Lloyd.

Administration is a court procedure that gives a company some breathing space from any action by creditors to either survive as an on-going business in whole or in part, organise an arrangement with creditors or to go out of business and get a better price for its assets.

A spokesman for the administrators said: “Hunter Kelly and Charles King of Ernst and Young LLP were appointed as joint administrators to Lotus Construction (Yorkshire) Ltd and its trading subsidiary, Lotus Construction Ltd, on November 7, 2008.

“Lotus Construction employs approximately 91 people. The group has been experiencing significant cash flow pressures and delays with key contracts.”

Mr King said: “Lotus Construction is an established business with a strong order book despite difficult times for the construction industry. The directors have made every effort to rescue the group but, unfortunately, the extent of the cash requirements and the ability to raise finance in the current market has thwarted their attempts.

“Unfortunately, it has been necessary to make 80 redundancies. Administrators are currently assessing the situation and contacting customers to ascertain the level of support.”

Work began on the medical centre in August this year after five years of wrangling over how it would be funded. It was expected to open in late spring next year. Already the main building on the site looks well on the way to completion.

When it was originally proposed in 2003, the project was intended to be financed by a private company set up by a consortium including the local primary care trust.

But restructuring and a shortage of money almost killed the project until Dr Suleman stepped in to raise the funds and lease the building back to the Bradford and Airedale Teaching Primary Care Trust (TPCT).

Rhys North, director of finance and procurement at Bradford and Airedale TCPT said: “The TPCT is aware that the developer for the new Addingham practice has gone into administration and is liaising with Dr Suleman concerning this matter. The TPCT understands Dr Suleman is investigating how a new developer can complete the planned development.”

Ilkley MP Ann Cryer said: “I thought the Addingham Medical Centre was all settled. That’s really unfortunate. It is the way we are at the moment. We are going to have more of those before its gets better.”