For sale: The quirky Yorkshire rural buildings with conversion potential

The derelict water works gradually being swallowed by nature and eroded by the elements had been “part of the furniture” on a farm near Flamborough for as long as anyone could remember.

Now up for auction with Cundalls with permission to convert into a holiday home and bunkhouse, it came with a parcel of land that an arable farmer bought from the water board in the 1950s. The building was deemed useless but 19 year-old farm worker Martin Parker spotted its potential.

He says: “I could see it how it might be made into an amazing place to live. The views are fantastic. I moved away to work on a farm near Hull but I never forgot about it and when I came back to Flamborough 12 years later I thought I’d see if I could buy it and get planning permission to turn into a home for myself.”

The property had been passed down through the farmer’s family but Martin asked around, found the owner, knocked on the door and asked the question. The answer was “yes”. It took Martin, now a farm manager, 18 months to get planning permission to convert the brick pump house into a one-bedroom holiday home and the water tank with its brick arches into a bunk house.

“I spent a lot of time cleaning up the site. It was completely overgrown and the plan was to convert it myself but my circumstances have changed. I am now married and I don’t have the income needed to make it into something special. I am looking forward to seeing what the new owner does to it but part of me will be sad that I didn’t get to do it myself.”

The late Victorian property sits in 0.75 acres and has a guide price of £50,000 to £75,000. The auction will take place on site on July 25.

Cundalls also has a couple of quirky “oven-ready” conversions for sale by informal tender. The former smithy, with a guide price of £40,000, and a former chapel, with a guide price of £30,000, are in Danby Dale in the North York Moors National Park. They are for sale by informal tender. They may be sold as two separate lots or together with a guide price of £70,000 with best offers to be submitted by July 20.

The buildings, which are 50 metres apart, were converted into camping barns by Ray Baskerville from St Albans who bought them in 1993. It took him two years to get planning permission and he spent 10 years converting them.

He and his family have useed them for short breaks and holidays - though planning rules for camping barns allow continuous use for no longer than a week at a time. They could generate an income if let.

Both have connection to electricity and water. The smithy has a hall, kitchen, living room, shower room and mezzanine sleeping area/camping room. It comes with off-road parking and seating areas adjoining Danby beck. The former chapel has a hall, W.C., dining kitchen, living room/camping room with shower room and stairs to a camping room.

For those who dream of converting a conventional barn into a full time home, PFK has one for sale in the village of Hartley near Kirkby Stephen. It is offers over £100,000 or £225,000 for the barn and 14.41 acres of land.

Anthony J Turner has a remote barn with planning permission close to Stoodley Pike, between Todmorden and Hebden Bridge, for sale at £160,000.

When buying any rural building for conversion check whether connection to utilities is a possibility. Providers charge a small fortune to run pipes and cables to remote and even not so remote homes. Alternatives include a septic tank, a borehole and a generator.