TWO former North Yorkshire police stations expected to raise nearly £2.5m have failed to sell at auction today.

The 1930s police station in Harrogate was expected to raise £1.9m and the former Helmsley station - which has planning consent for residential properties - had a reserve of £450,000 at the auction in Leeds.

Julia Mulligan, the Police and Crime Commissioner for North Yorkshire, said: “The two properties which were available through auction have attracted significant interest from a number of potential purchasers, and a number of viewings had been undertaken prior to the auction today.

“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.”

Staff in Harrogate moved to a new station last year and those in Helmsley share space at the North York Moors National Park Authority headquarters.