RICHARD Reynolds, owner of Leighton Hall, near Carnforth, is hopeful a new money-raising scheme could save the stately home from closure.

He had warned it would have to be sold, after permission to develop a 55-chalet timeshare complex within the estate grounds was refused following a public inquiry.

But negotiations are now under way with a company to create office accommodation on the site.

Mr Reynolds, who has been searching for ways to bring in a steady stream of income for his ancestral home, told the Gazette the commercial development would be on a smaller scale and different in character from the timeshare plans.