THE property downturn has hit the sale of comic legend Stan Laurel’s old school, which is struggling to find a buyer.

The 145-year-old Laurel building at the old King James I Grammar School, in Bishop Auckland, has attracted no acceptable bids since it was put on the market by Durham County Council in January.

The council acts as trustees for the charitable trust that own the grade II-listed school, in South Church Road.

It was already derelict when it was almost destroyed by arsonists in March 2007.

Laurel, who was then known as Stanley Jefferson, was a boarder at King James in 1902 when his father, Arthur, managed the nearby Eden Theatre.

He practised his early comic routines in the staff room before he moved to the US and found fame with partner Oliver Hardy.

Following the fire, several groups and organisations in Bishop Auckland put forward ideas to use it as council offices, an art gallery, mining museum or business starter units, but none resulted in a firm proposal.

The council is obliged by law to secure the best deal for taxpayers and will use proceeds from the sale to set up a permanent charitable endowment for Bishop Auckland’s children and young people.

Officers are meeting this week to discuss the building’s future and are preparing a report for the council’s cabinet.

Councillor Rob Yorke said that the building had not been attractive to developers because of the high cost of renovation.

He said: “It was insured and the money from that could be used for repairs, but it would not be economic to develop as flats because prices in that area have fallen because of the current economic climate.

“One solution could be for the council to work in collaboration with a private developer to provide community facilities in part of the building and sell the rest for residential use.

“Alternatively, there could be Local Enterprise Growth Initiative (Legi) money for enterprise workshops on one floor and offices on another.

“We all want to save the building and see it restored, but it is deteriorating all the time and becoming more expensive to renovate.

“It is a very difficult situation.”