A FARM and associated buildings once part of the historic, 17th Century Grade II-listed Nunthorpe Hall estate are being offered for sale by a council.

Middlesbrough Borough Council are trying to sell the leasehold for Nunthorpe Hall Farm and its buildings across two sites in Nunthorpe, although no price has been set.

A spokesman for the cash-strapped authority has declined to say how long the property has been under its control or how much was paid for it. However the council began the process of trying to sell 25 property assets three years ago in an attempt raise £5.3m and cut annual running costs by about £492,000.

Middlesbrough council consulted with English Heritage and it has been agreed by the authority that the exterior of the brick, Victorian buildings must be preserved along with a number of features including coats of arms on the barn wall and bull's eye windows.

The North of England Civic Trust (NECT) has been consulted because the buildings are in a specially designated conservation area.

NECT have advised that the existing buildings on the Nunthorpe Hall Farm site can be converted to seven or eight dwellings and the more modern buildings can be demolished and replaced with between five and seven houses with garages.

The first site comprises the buildings of Nunthorpe Hall Farm, while the second site is a smaller group of buildings known as Blacksmith’s Yard, on the other side of the road through the village.

Nunthorpe councillor, Lesley McGloin, Independent, has said there is opposition to more housing in the village.

She said: "Nunthorpe is a heritage site but is could lose its character and get swallowed up. There's only one road in the village and one road out and there's serious traffic issues. I can understand the council saying, 'we need the money,' but it's always 'take, take, take' when it comes to Nunthorpe.

"There's no benefit in this for Nunthorpe."

The Wilson family had being using the property as a livestock farm since 1932 and it is still currently being used as a working farm.

The property is to be sold by informal tender and the council is using the North East Procurement Organisation online system. Interested parties are invited to attend a viewing day at the premises on Friday, September 11 from 1pm to 4pm.

For more information, contact Middlesbrough council's Valuation and Estates Project Manager Graham Tyerman on 01642-727453.