TWO former police stations which were expected to net £2.35m have failed to sell at auction.

North Yorkshire Police had placed reserve prices of £1.9m for its North Park Road station in Harrogate and £450,000 for its Ashdale Road station in Helmsley.

But at an auction at Leeds United’s Elland Road stadium, bids for the 1930s listed building in Harrogate town centre stopped at £500,000 below the reserve, while offers for the two three-bedroom property building in Helmsley, which has residential planning permission also fell short.

Following the auction, North Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner Julia Mulligan, who is set to reveal plans to sell the force’s Newby Wiske headquarters and move to a purpose-built base in Hambleton district, said the force would be prepared to negotiate lower prices.

She said: “Whilst neither property reached its reserve value at the auction, meaning that the properties were not sold, auctions are an effective way of testing the market interest and we have found this to be a really valuable exercise providing us with a good basis for future negotiations.

“There is always a potential for post-auction offers via the auction house and these would be considered should they arise.”