The popularity of lots offered on behalf of South Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire councils led to a 'phenomenally busy' auction and sales of £4million.

Lots including two park lodges in Barnsley, an ex-education centre in Doncaster, a well-known Derbyshire pub, and a Grade II listed former threshing barn in Lincolnshire all went under the hammer at the Mark Jenkinson and Son regional local authority auction.

Adrian Little, Head of the Auction Department, said: "This was a phenomenally busy auction – one of our busiest ever with a packed hall - thanks to the variety of properties on offer throughout the region, from the usual array of houses for modernisation, to landmark buildings and larger development and investment opportunities.

"We represented seven regional local authorities looking to cash in on assets and complete sales within the current tax year and, consequently, many of the lots were coming to the market for the first time and therefore proved very popular.

"North and South Lodges in Barnsley's Locke Park, while architecturally very different, are both terrific restoration projects. North sold for its exact guide price of £135,000 while the South Lodge, on at £130,000, went for £10,000 more at £140,000.

"The former Thorne Education Centre, based on a Doncaster industrial estate, with the potential for a variety of uses, was on at £150,000 but sold for nearly £100,000 more at £247,000.

"The Grade II listed Elsham Chalk Barns is a former threshing barn in North Lincolnshire. With the potential for conversion and its location on the edge of an industrial estate, it sold for just over its guide price of £100,000 at £102,000 while Newland Farmhouse, a dilapidated former smallholding, far exceeded its guide of £90,000 going for £120,000.

"The Fleur de Lys pub in Dronfield offered the option of maintaining its current use or taking advantage of the planning permission for seven houses on the site. With a guide price of between £225,000 and £250,000 it proved popular, nearly reaching the top end selling for £244,000.

"Meanwhile, land at Sefton Road in Sheffield - in the prime residential 'S10' postcode - had a guide price of £250,000 but sold for £310,000.”

At the auction, held at The Platinum Suite, Sheffield United Football Club, Mark Jenkinson represented seven local authorities: Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council, Bassetlaw District Council, Derbyshire County Council, Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council, North Lincolnshire Council, Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council, Sheffield City Council, as well as St Leger Homes.

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