SETTLE CE Primary School was sold at auction on Friday for £560,000.

After just a few busy minutes of bidding, the gavel fell as the building in which Settle children had been educated for almost 150 years was sold for redevelopment into seven houses.

The buyer, who would not give his name, was a developer from West Yorkshire, and the Herald understands he has also bought Dawsons, the former Settle hardware shop.

The bulk of the school site was owned by the Church of England, with part of the yard known as the sheds belonging to North Yorkshire County Council.

Vicar of Settle, the Rev Stewart Ridley, said: "I am very happy. It's a relief! It's emotional too because you have said goodbye to something you have loved very much, but with excitement because of going to the new school.

"Enough money was raised to cover all the expenses, so there's no worries now. All the proceeds from this have to go into the school."

Rev Ridley added: "It shows how the property market in Settle has changed. Only a few years ago we were talking about it being valued at £150,000 to £180,000. It has rapidly gone up!"

Settle CE Primary School closed last month ready to reopen in a new building on Bond Lane on September 9.

The completion date for the sale is August 23, but the school is keeping possession of the old building until September 30, the auction was told.

Auctioneer Nicholas Gee, of Dacre, Son and Hartley, opened the bidding in a packed Royal Oak dining room at £250,000. It soon reached £490,000 at which point bids started going up by £5,000 a time rather than £10,000.

Around six people put bids in, and Mr Gee believed that a further six were probably intending to bid, but the price climbed too high too soon and they did not get the chance.

He said: "It really will be a superb development. There are fewer and fewer opportunities to get these sorts of sites and that is why we had such a full house.

"It was at the top of our expectations, and a sign of our times. There are few development projects available in places like Settle.

"The buyer is moving into the Craven area with his development work from his current base in West Yorkshire."

It was standing room only in the Settle pub dining room such was the interest locally in the sale, with around 60 people - and a dog - in attendance.