THE planned auction sale of a council-owned visitor centre in Dobcross has been called off amid a campaign by locals to allow the owners of the popular café underneath to buy it which looks to have paid off.

Brownhill Visitor Centre in Wool Road was due to go under the hammer on Tuesday, but the property was withdrawn from sale after a direct appeal from the couple who own and run the Limekiln Café to Oldham Council leader Sean Fielding.

It is understood the decision by the town hall to sell off the asset is because not enough people are visiting it, against a background of a wide-ranging review of the authority’s property and assets as it braces itself for £22 million of budget cuts.

However, Limekiln owners Mark and Jane Stewart wrote to Cllr Fielding offering to buy the building, including the public toilets and car park.

Jane said: “We would like to keep running it as it is, and to develop the upstairs as an exhibition and function space for the community.

She said Cllr Fielding had responded positively to a letter the couple wrote directly to him and a meeting was being arranged with Emma Barton, the council’s director of economy.

Jane said it was highly unlikely that any other private buyer would want to continue to run the public facilities because there are is up to £50,000 needed to replace a faulty septic tank.

She continued: “The building is being sold mainly because the septic tank - and rather than pay to replace it - the council opted to pump it out on an almost daily.

“This has cost to date in excess of £250,000. They now want to sell. We are happy to make the necessary reparations - and continue to provide a community toilet facility, and have included this in our offer to the council.

“We have just trying to make people aware that our community facilities are at risk, and that we are willing to maintain them if our offer is accepted.”

Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat councillor Derek Heffernan and Garth Harkness have called on the town hall to do “everything they can” to make a deal with the Stewarts.

Cllr Harkness said: “We did not want the council to sell the Brownhill Visitor Centre building. But Oldham council decided to do so anyway. We then called on the council to do everything possible to allow the café to buy the freehold. Oldham council should keep discussions open with the café to try to sell to them.”

And Cllr Heffernan said: "The loss of this provision as a meeting place for many groups as well as toilet facilities will be a serious loss to the area. If someone other than Lime Kiln Café buy this then the toilets need to be kept open and the café allowed to continue trading there. This needs to be written into the agreement. There is a £50,000 cost required to replace the faulty septic tank, therefore it is likely the toilets will be closed."