A FORMER Georgian estate in the heart of the Dedham Vale is on the market for more than £5 million.Lawford Place near Manningtree is set in more than 16 acres of grounds and planning consent has been granted for 43 dwellings at the site.

A FORMER Georgian estate in the heart of the Dedham Vale is on the market for more than £5 million.

Lawford Place near Manningtree is set in more than 16 acres of grounds and planning consent has been granted for 43 dwellings at the site.

The building, which was ravaged by fire in 1999, was once a research centre where Baroness Thatcher worked.

All that remains of the manor house are three walls, but whoever takes over the project will have to restore the property to its former glory before any of the other work can begin.

English Heritage stipulated the original walls would have to be incorporated into the development.

The proposed scheme includes 17 detached houses, 14 in crescent terraces and 12 apartments in the converted manor house with new wings added.

The scheme was given the go-ahead by planners at Tendring District Council earlier this year.

Previous ideas, which included bunker style homes sunk into the woodland, had met fierce opposition from local preservationists.

But this scheme won praise from former opponents, the Dedham Vale Society.

Previously, the society said it was pleased none of the planned buildings encroached on the grounds outside the original site.

However, it claimed there were concerns about the number of houses and possible light pollution and the lake and woodland management.

Under the stipulations of the plans, whoever takes on the contract would have spend money on the existing tree and on planting new tress.

Anyone able to offer more than £5.35 million for the development, which is off Cox's Hill in Lawford, should contact Beauchamp Estates on 020 74997722.