A DARLINGTON businessman has told how his hopes of buying historic Windlestone Hall were dashed and revealed dealings he had with conman William Davenport.

Terry Kneeshaw said he made a sealed bid of £1.7m to the hall’s former owner Durham County Council and planned to restore the property near Ferryhill, which was once the home of former Conservative Prime Minister Sir Anthony Eden.

Instead the council accepted a higher bid from a housing group which planned to build luxury flats within the grounds.

When that deal collapsed Windlestone was later put back up for sale and sold to Davenport in 2011 for less than a quarter of a million pounds.

Mr Kneeshaw said he prepared a substantial 100 page document as part of his bid and envisaged moving his own business into the property, doubling its size, and converting the hall into a commercial and residential building with offices.

He questioned why when the original purchaser withdrew, he was not contacted by council chiefs to see if he wished to bid again.

The 58-year-old, from Darlington, has spent hundreds of thousands of pounds on restoring Grade II listed Coatham Hall, in Coatham Mundeville, Darlington.

He made his money in advertising and at one stage his agency had the contract for hundreds of Sainsbury’s stores.

Mr Kneeshaw said: “It would have been a serious investment. The whole idea was also to retain the integrity of the building and I had absolutely set my heart on owning it.

“Then I got a call from them [the council] saying my sealed bid was unsuccessful. I was very disappointed. The council must have some obligation to do well by the residents it represents and in this case I don’t think they have done.

“They also never called me to say the property was going back on the market.”

Mr Kneeshaw added: “It [Windlestone Hall] is an incredible place, for what we wanted it was magnificent.

“I met with the council on site on several occasions. It needed to go somebody who was sympathetic to its situation and I felt I fitted the bill at the time.”

Mr Kneeshaw said he even bought the internet domain names for Windlestonehall.com and Windlestonehall.co.uk so convinced he was that he would own the property.

He recalled how later he was contacted by Davenport, who is now serving a six year jail sentence after he was found to have fraudulently purchased the hall.

Mr Kneeshaw, who at that time was oblivious to Davenport’s criminality, said: “I congratulated him and handed over the domain names as a gesture of his success and my failure.

“That now just adds to my indignity.”

Stuart Timmiss, head of planning and assets at Durham County Council, said Windlestone Hall was sold in good faith and the eventual purchase price was justified by the extremely poor condition of the property.

He said: “We faced a repair bill of £3.5m. Selling the hall has saved the council nearly £1m in ongoing costs at a time of significant financial pressures.”