Date set for Northampton Borough Council to sell off disused farmhouse

Northampton Borough Council is set to sell Rectory Farmhouse to the highest bidder after its plans to make the derelict building an outreach sixth form centre fell through.

The farmhouse and its buildings such as the Barn – which is now the community centre – date back to 1843 and were taken on by the borough council in 1985 as part of a land transfer from Northampton Development Corporation.

Now the authority has confirmed that the building will be auctioned off on May 6, although it is not yet known how they will auction it off.

The farmhouse has had a variety of uses within recent years including being used as part of the community centre, a pre-school which has since relocated into the community centre and a police out-station. But it has stood empty since 2018 and is currently boarded up.

The neighbouring community centre meanwhile is undergoing a £250,000 refurbishment that was given planning permission last April, and will see a separate hall built to meet growing demand. Work is set to be completed by late spring.

It is hoped that auctioning off the unused farmhouse will enhance the area further, with the borough council’s cabinet agreeing in February to sell it off and generate a capital receipt.