AN old wooden mart ring left standing after sales ended last year could be bulldozed to make way for homes.

Architects will help determine the future of the 120-year-old listed building at Tow Law, County Durham, where generations of the Vickers family held auctions until September.

With local opinion divided over whether the building is an eyesore or a historic gem, Tow Law Town Council is commissioning a report on its viability.

At present, it must be preserved because it is listed by the Department of the Environment as having historic value, and it is a condition of the developers' planning permission for the site.

But the council could apply for it to be take off the Grade II register, if the report concludes that it is not worth saving.

Council chairman Terry Batson acknowledged that some members think the building it too dilapidated to be of value, but is himself keen to retain it.

He said: "My personal view is that if it could be used as something like a library or museum, it would be fantastic.

"Tow Law needs places like that which are part of its history.

"We could create something around it which would be meaningful for the town.

"Now it is up to the feasibility study being prepared by the architects.

"At the moment it has to be preserved but if we are told it isn't a viable proposition then it will go."

Barry Smith, managing director of developers McInerney Homes North-East, in Fishburn, said: "If it was demolished we wouldn't be disappointed. There is not much of the original building left and I am led to believe that it is held together by nails.

"It looks worse now that the rest of the mart has gone and you can see it from the road.

"We tried to get places like Beamish Museum interested in it but it is apparently not a good specimen of a bull ring.

"People who come to the site, who are mainly local, think it is an eyesore. They say it is spoiling the development and we share that view."