IT was with immense sadness that we learned yesterday that negotiations over the £15m sale of the Zurbaran paintings are in deep trouble.

The creation of a cultural attraction in the fantastic setting of Auckland Castle, and its beautiful grounds, is a magnificent project that is every bit as vital to the economic regeneration of the North-East as the tantalising industrial promise of Hitachi’s trainbuilding factory in Newton Aycliffe.

The castle should be part of a story that stretches from Fountains Abbey in the south, through Durham Cathedral and Jarrow over Hadrian’s Wall to Lindisfarne.

Even with the huge good will behind the scenes, negotiations were bound to be fraught and wide-ranging. Now, while there is still a glimmer of hope, is not the time to point fingers of blame at the breakdown.

Jonathan Ruffer is, though, the man with the money. The Church Commissioners are the ones who want that money, and they need this deal to rehabilitate their reputation.

The deal cannot be allowed to slip.

It is too terrible to think of the Zurbarans – which belong to County Durham and which play such a powerful part in the story of the Prince Bishops – disappearing out of the country and the castle, which is no longer the residence of the Bishop, converted into a hotel.

How ironic it would be if in 2013 the Lindisfarne Gospels came home to the region at the same time as the Zurbarans were lost. It is, though, good to see that Mr Ruffer remains committed to charitably helping the region next year, and does not intend to walk away entirely.

We hope that the deal to save the Zurbarans can be resurrected. Indeed, the Christian message of Christmas is all about new life and new hope, so we hope that both sides can start negotiations anew and find room for compromise in their hearts.

In fact, we do more than just hope.

We implore them. This is too big a deal, with too big a prize at stake, to be lost without an enormous fight.