TALKS are expected to resume soon over the future of Aysgarth's Youth Hostel.

A campaign to save the premises foundered last year when regional development agency Yorkshire Forward declined to make a contribution to the £500,000 restoration scheme.

North Yorkshire County Council, Richmondshire District Council and the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority hoped a partnership with the agency would save the building.

However, in September, the Youth Hostel Association (YHA) confirmed it would be putting the hostel on the market as a going concern for six months.

If there was no interest from prospective buyers, the organisation said it would seek the national park's permission for a change of use in the hope of attracting interest from a wider market.

Yesterday, a spokesman for the YHA confirmed that although there had been a number of inquiries about the property, none had involved the premises continuing as a hostel.

He said: "It therefore seems likely we will be talking to the local planning authority soon about what happens now."