HALF of the apartments being constructed as part of a controversial building scheme are up for sale before they have been built.

Chesterfield House, in Stanhope Road, Darlington, was demolished to make way for the apartments.

Despite a battle to save the 1914 house, which used to accommodate doctors and nurses, the decision was taken in January to allow it to be demolished and the site used for flats.

People living in the area, English Heritage, the Council for the Preservation of Rural England and the North-East Civic Trust had called on Darlington Borough Council to refuse planning permission for the project. The objectors had called for the building to be maintained and converted if necessary into housing, but the council decided it was not structurally safe to make the conversion.

The demolition work is now complete and developers MMP Construction (NE) Limited are on the site, which is owned by Darlington Homes Ltd.

Because of demand for the flats, the company has decided to put 15 of the 30 apartments, in two separate blocks, up for sale before they are completed.

The first artist's drawings of the two blocks have also been produced. The larger block will contain 18 apartments and will face towards Stanhope Road and Coniscliffe Road. The smaller one will contain 12 apartments, facing towards the gardens of the complex but backing on to Scarth Street.

Although details of the new development have just been released there have been 300 expressions of interest for the 30 apartments. To deal with the demand, potential purchasers have been invited to submit sealed bids for the first 15 apartments.

It is hoped the first apartments, ranging in price between £104,950 and £174,950, will be occupied between July and August next year.

Doug Christie, managing director of Darlington Homes Ltd, said: "I have been really delighted by the unprecedented interest in Chesterfields.

"However, this level of interest can probably be explained by the location of the site so close to Darlington town centre and the visual appeal of the buildings themselves."