THE saga of the Woodlands Social Club in Calne has come to an end, as chartered accountants appointed to wind up the organisation have finally sold the Grade II listed building to a developer.

The club, which was formed from the old Harris Bacon Factory Social and Welfare Club and was wound up with £200,000 in debt, of which £90,000 was owed to HM Revenue and Customs, was sold for an undisclosed fee.

Steve Elliot from Monahans had been meeting members of the club since summer 2015, when the club in Woodland Park closed its doors for the last time, to attempt to save it.

Problems initially began when it was discovered that the original limited company behind the club had been sold by mistake in 2009, meaning that the club had no assets or premises to secure any funds.

There had been hopes the club could be re-started.

Speaking after the sale, Mr Eliot said: "This was a particularly complex insolvency process, involving restoring the original company to the register to enable the property to be transferred into my control and ultimately sold.

"If the restoration had not been successful, the premises would have remained vested in the Crown and the hard work of all of the officers, members and professionals involved would have been for nothing, with no prospect of a return to creditors. I would therefore like to personally thank everyone involved for making that happen."

As part of the insolvency process, Martin Baker of Alder King was appointed to sell the clubhouse and its land, which covers about one acre. The sale went though at the beginning of December.

Mr Baker said: "We were delighted that Monahans chose to appoint Alder King to deal with this disposal. The property presented some unique challenges, including being Grade II listed and being set within a conservation area, but attracted strong levels of demand from both the occupier and developer markets.

"Following a period of competitive bidding, we were delighted to conclude negotiations with a local developer who is proposing to redevelop the site and refurbish the building."