LANDMARK St Albans building Bleak House is back on the market with a price tag of £1 million minus a chunk of land at the side.
The new owners of the Grade II listed building on the corner of Catherine Street and Normandy Road, who bought the property from Hertfordshire County Council, are applying for planning consent to build four to five dwellings on land fronting Normandy Road.
Prospective buyers will have to make unconditional offers for the building, without gaining planning consent for any development of change of use, according to the vendor's agents, Aitchison Raffety.
"We have already had several inquiries from potential purchasers such as doctors' surgeries, nursing homes and other users including residential, though there could be a problem in converting it to flats as it is a listed building," said a spokesman for Aitchison Raffety.
The building currently has consent for commercial use and was last used as offices by the county council's social services department. It is currently empty.
The imposing 19th Century building is often thought to be named in connection with Charles Dickens' Bleak House. The author was once a visitor to St Albans.
June 25, 2002 11:30
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