SIGNIFICANT interest has been shown in four crown jewel properties in a Northumberland town as the deadline looms for bids.

The fate of the quartet of prestige county council-owned buildings in Hexham will be decided after final offers are made at midday on Friday, January 28.

Prospect House, Hexham House, The Old Grammar School and the Old Swimming Pool are all on the market as Northumberland County Council looks to make big budget savings.

The decision last autumn to sell the four historic properties – estimated to be worth a combined £4m – caused a storm and watchdogs are trying to ensure that any buyers and their future plans are carefully vetted.

Because the sale will be by formal tender, all bids must remain anonymous until deadline day.

Andrew Toes, of estate agent Rook Matthews Sayer, said: “In sale by formal tender, bids are placed anonymously in sealed envelopes and are opened on the nominated day.

“We are now reminding people that the deadline is not far away – the closing date is January 28 at midday.”

A spokesman for Northumberland County Council said: “There has been a significant amount of interest in the properties, and the council looks forward to considering bids when tenders are received on January 28.”

Prospect House and the adjacent Old Grammar School, both currently used for council functions, were originally owned by Henry Lockhart, a descendant of a pre-eminent Victorian family well known in the Tyne Valley.

Mr Lockhart’s niece, Kerra Lockhart St John, who lives in Canada, has branded the sales “a betrayal of trust”. Mrs St John, events director at the University of Victoria in British Columbia, said her late uncle sold the properties at a low price to the old Rural and Tynedale District Councils on the understanding that they would, through the councils, be effectively owned by the citizens of Hexham.

Prospect House is a Grade II-listed building and the Old Grammar School behind it houses the planning offices.

Hexham House, which overlooks the gardens behind the abbey, is also a Grade II-listed building and is for sale along with the attached No 2 Gilesgate, which is presently office accommodation. The Old Swimming Pool stands opposite Hexham House, and as the buildings are in the Hexham Conservation Area, safeguards are in place concerning future use.

A clause in the sales prospectus says: “An important criteria in considering offers will be the eventual use of the site.”

Hotels and restaurants are thought to be interested. The council has covered itself with a protective clause stipulating that it does not have to accept the best offer made.

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