A FORMER special school that was recently registered as a community asset will go under the hammer at an auction next month.

Heaton Royds School, in Shipley, shut in 2010, and owners Bradford Council planned to sell it shortly after.

The building, in Redburn Drive, could finally be sold when it is listed at the Pugh property auction at Elland Road, Leeds on September 8.

At first, disposal of the school was held up when the Government requested that the council retain the empty site, which cost the taxpayer £28,000 to maintain and secure, as the possible location for a free school.

The council was given the all-clear to finally dispose of the site in 2013, but shortly after charity group the Bradford Community Environmental Project applied to have the building listed as a community asset.

It hoped to convert the building into its new offices, and its application was successful, meaning there was a six-week period where community groups, parish councils or charities would have the opportunity to raise enough money to buy the property before it went on the open market.

It would have cost the group £750,000 to buy the building and bring it up to the standards needed to move in, but they were unable to raise the money in the six month period. The council has now decided to sell the site.

The building, which is on 3.14 acres of greenbelt land, includes classrooms, a hall, offices and toilets. The guide price for the site is £150,000.

On Pugh's website the building is described as "vandalised" and that the site is dangerous and with an access road that is "in need of repair."

A Bradford Council Asset Management spokesman said: "The listing of the Heaton Royds site as an Asset of Community Value, under the Localism Act, meant that there was a six-month period in which the Council could not sell the property.

"This was to allow groups to register an interest in the site, develop business cases and secure funding to bid for the property.

"However, there is no legal requirement for the Council to sell to or negotiate with a community group and it has always been made clear to interested groups that the property will be offered for sale on the open market.

"The six-month period ended on April 24 and the property is being auctioned in September. Any interested party, including community groups, can bid."

Other lots being sold by the council include a garage site at Stubbing Way/Owlet Road, Windhill which has planning permission for two pairs of semi-detached dwellings, which has a recommended price of £30,000, and vacant land at 581-583 Thornton Road, Girlington, which also has a guide price of £30,000.