Villagers who appealed to Prince Charles for help in saving Hawksworth Hall have been told he's too busy to help them.

Residents wrote to the Prince asking for his support after Leeds City Council passed an application to convert the Grade II-listed building, near Guiseley, into homes.

But according to a Buckingham Palace spokesman the Prince is too busy to give his support.

The determined villagers are now hoping a visit to England by American millionaire Jay Hawkesworth Elias Jnr will settle the dispute.

Mr Hawkesworth Elias Jnr claims his family holds the deeds to the property and he wants to reclaim ownership, restore it to its former glory and bequeath it to the village.

He said the charity Scope, which turned the hall into a home for children with cerebral palsy and has now put it up for sale, was given use of the hall but not ownership. He intends to fly in to England this week with his real estate adviser to meet the charity and contest ownership.

But a Scope spokesman said: "We have had no contact with Mr Elias Jnr but would be happy to meet him and clarify the situation. We bought the building and have been the owners since 1956. It has never been contested before."

A 700-signature petition opposing plans to develop the hall, was sent by villagers to Prince Charles, Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott and English Heritage.

The Department for the Environment, Transport and the Regions was unable to comment on the situation until a final decision had been made. But English Heritage said it was no concern of theirs because the hall itself would not be demolished in the redevelopment.

A member of the group set up to campaign for the preservation of the hall, farmer Ralph Kay, said: "We feel disappointed at the response from English Heritage because there are a lot of historical features inside the hll and outside and we thought they would support us.

"Throughout Aireborough there has been overwhelming support for the preservation of an intrinsically valuable historic building. People have been astonished and saddened at the prospect of the desecration."

But villagers have received support from Paul Truswell MP who said he would rather see the building restored to its former glory.

A plan to turn the hall into two four-bedroom and one five-bedroom houses was passed by the Council, despite village opposition, and has been sent to the DETR.

Mr Hawkesworth Elias Jnr said: "I'm not just doing this for myself. I just want to preserve it as a beautiful hall, for the people of Hawksworth."

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