THERE is still no news on the future of the former Seale-Hayne Agricultural College on the outskirts of Newton Abbot.

Several bids are believed to have gone in for the 385-acre site which is owned by the University of Plymouth.

GVA Grimley, the property consultancy which is agent for the university, was expecting between six and 12 bids on the table when the deadline for tenders closed on May 29.

A spokeswoman said that they had intended making an announcement this week but there was a hold-up because one of the clients was away.

Originally it was expected the college site would fetch some £10 million but the credit crunch put a damper on that.

The college had a worldwide reputation in the agricultural field, thousands of students having passed through its corridors down the years.

But not long after it was acquired and became a faculty of the University of Plymouth, the university decided to close it and concentrate its courses in its campus in the city.

That caused a furore among the staff, students, former graduates and the town.

With backing from Teignbridge and Newton Abbot Town Councils, Teignbridge MP Richard Younger-Ross and a long running campaign from the Seale-Hayne Future Group, the closure was fought tooth and nail without success.

Previously development companies have expressed an interest for housing development, and Bovey Tracey's Leighton King planned a Climate Change Solution Centre, and a special school was also on the cards, but so far all to no avail.

The Seale-Hayne Future Group continues to press for the site to be used for some form of educational purposes.

Before he died in 2007, Geoffrey Dowrick, a former principal of the college, who was there for 18 years, had been saddened by the news that the university had decided to sell Seale-Hayne, which he had maintained appeared to be going against written agreements, but dementia prevented him taking an active role in any challenge.