Historic Hartlebury Castle will be sold on the open market after an agreement between its owners and campaigners fell through.

Hartlebury Castle Preservation Trust (HCPT), which is made up of local residents, won a two-year option to buy the site from the Church of England in October last year.

But members today said negotiations had broken down after the Church asked for a higher price than valuations for the property.

This, coupled with other restrictions on the sale, has ruled members out of making vital bids to funding groups such as the Heritage Lottery Fund.

The Church of England will now put the castle up for sale on the open market where it will be sold to the highest bidder.

But Church Commissioners said this will not happen for another two years – giving campaigners a chance to raise the £2.5 million needed to battle for the site on the open market.

Trust spokesman Sue Beeson said: “We have been negotiating with the Church Commissioners to acquire the castle for public benefit and to preserve the 1,100-year heritage of the site.

“However as the details were spelled out during the negotiations, it became clear the conditions and asking price made it unrealistic for the trust to accept.

“We can understand the Church has to ensure they deliver the best value and both parties went the extra mile to make as many concessions as they could.”

The Church has also allowed the trust to use the cash for fundraising events over the next two years.

Mrs Beeson added: “We remain committed to fighting to save the property from sale into the commercial or private sector.

“The Church Commissioners have generously offered to refrain from putting the property on the open market for two years.

“This gives us that amount of time to try and raise the funds to compete on the open market.”

The Church Commission was unavailable for comment today.