Helen Kirk says she will never give up her fight to see Elmswell Old Hall, on a private estate near Driffield, restored as a house, despite a major setback last year.

There are currently two applications in the planning system which could finally seal the fate of the rotting building, once home to the agricultural diarist Henry Best, but last occupied 45 years ago.

One from the Spitalfields Trust aims to restore it as a house, the other, from Elmswell Heritage Ltd, which involves the owners and the Wolds Heritage Trust, seeks to partially demolish and alter it.

Mrs Kirk, from Easingwold, who first heard about the building 21 years ago, was recently awarded the Esher Award by the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings for her "tenacity" in trying to have the building preserved.

The award is given to "those who on purely altruistic grounds have furthered the cause of building conservation and thus the work of the SPAB".

Supporters of the listed grade two star building describe the hall as "a rare survivor of vernacular architecture in this part of Yorkshire."

However the owners, the Mackrill family, have always maintained it is beyond repair and some Conservatives on East Riding Council have said spending taxpayers money saving it is a pointless exercise.

Graham Mackrill said yesterday: "My family has owned the land for 70 years and we have slowly put it back to what it was. We were told nearly half a century ago that the resurrection of this house was not a viable proposition."

Mrs Kirk's campaign suffered a major setback last year when East Riding Council dropped its bid to secure a compulsory purchase order on the building.

The Council went to court to try to secure a CPO as a step towards achieving renovation of the manor house.

But they lost the case, heard by a district judge at a magistrates court, and decided not to fight on – claiming English Heritage has been "unable to commit unconditionally to the appeal."

However Mrs Kirk said English Heritage was now supporting the bid and that she had written to the Council saying the Spitalfields Trust proposals are "achievable" and "will ensure the long-term survival of the remains of the original fabric of the building."

She claimed Elmswell Heritage's proposals would leave the building "an inaccessible box with no lid on". She said: "I am very pleased to see that English Heritage is so determined and I will continue to work as I have done for more than 20 years to see this important building restored."

The building was once home to agricultural diarist Henry Best, who wrote several historically significant books on farming. It is thought to be one of the first brick-built buildings in East Yorkshire.

The planning applications have been in the system for more than a year. Elmswell Heritage is seeking to infill doors and windows, record the east gable, take down and rebuild, reduce the walls at the western end to the first floor and install steel beams. The Spitalfields Trust wants to turn it into a private home with limited public access.

The Trust first achieved fame for its work in restoring a derelict Georgian estate in London. It has since saved and restored properties across Britain.