LISTED buildings from Northumbria Police’s former headquarters are set to go on sale later this year.

Housebuilder Bellway is converting a number of Grade II listed cottages and the superintendent’s house at the Ponteland site into 22 new homes.

The renovated properties will form the centrepiece of Bellway’s Ottermead, at Jameson Manor development, which is part of a wider scheme of 275 homes being created by a consortium of Bellway and Ashberry Homes on the extensive site.

The listed buildings date back to the early 1900s, with the cottages originally built to house children away from Newcastle's workhouses.

It became Northumbria Police headquarters in 1981 and the 57-acre site was sold to Bellway for £21 million in 2018.

The proceeds from the land sale have been re-invested in local policing and the force moved into a new headquarters to the south of the site.

A total of 61 newly built-homes have already been purchased and 24 are now occupied.

Emma Chesterton, head of sales for Bellway North-East, described the site as significant.

She added: "The renovation of these elegant properties will give house buyers a unique opportunity to purchase a home within a listed building on a site of great local significance.

"Given their historical and architectural importance, these 22 homes are the focal point of the development and have provided the inspiration for the design and character of the other houses which are being built on the site.

"Our purchase of the former Northumbria Police headquarters has not only provided vital funds for local policing, but has also enabled us to deliver a development which preserves the integrity of this historic site, while delivering high-quality, new homes to meet the area’s housing needs."