CAMPAIGNERS battling to keep Elvaston Castle in public hands have demanded to know why the attraction's future has not yet been resolved.

More than five years on from Highgate Sanctuary being selected as the preferred company to take over running of the castle, no planning application has been submitted.

But the Derby Telegraph can reveal that, in the meantime, Derbyshire County Council has spent more than £3.6m on running the castle and its grounds and spent nearly £80,000 on trying to complete the deal.

Campaigners are astonished the council has admitted that it has not set a date for the matter to be resolved and has no plans to seek an alternative developer.

The council originally said it wanted someone else to run the castle because it could not afford the estimated £3m bill to repair the castle, or cover its annual running costs.

But a spokesman for the Friends of Elvaston Castle, which is fighting to keep the castle in public hands, said: "The £3.6m could have restored the estate and returned it to the fully-operational tourist attraction it ought to be, not treating it as a white elephant to be disposed of no matter what the cost."

A Highgate Sanctuary spokeswoman said "it was to be expected'' that the process would take so long and it was hoping to open the hotel by 2013. That is two years after the original proposed date.

The spokeswoman said she expected a planning application to be submitted this autumn, also two years behind schedule.

The move is intended to save the taxpayer an estimated £3m in repairs and £500,000 running costs a year.

But as negotiations over the leasing of Elvaston Castle to developer Highgate Sanctuary drag on, the cost to the county council mounts.

From when Highgate was first backed as preferred bidder for the castle in September 2004, to March 2009, the authority has spent more than £3.6m on its running costs.

And a Freedom of Information Request from the Derby Telegraph revealed nearly £80,000 more spent on legal fees, marketing, advertising and architects' work to complete the deal.

Now campaign group The Friends of Elvaston Castle, which is battling to keep the castle in public hands, has demanded to know why the future of the historic site is still in doubt.

The question seems all the more important as thousands of people took advantage of the sunshine to visit the historic site last weekend.

A Friends spokesman said: "We are disappointed the future of the castle has not been sorted out.

"Public disgust at the disposal is very strong and High-gate Sanctuary has no known experience of country estate restoration.

"The Friends are opposed to any privatisation of Elvaston Castle Country Park and question the suitability of any scheme which radically alters such a beautiful public asset and runs contrary to the wishes of the community.

"The £3.6m could have restored the estate and returned it to the fully-operational tourist attraction it ought to be, not treating it as a white elephant to be disposed of no matter what the cost."

Highgate Sanctuary wants to turn the castle into a hotel and build a golf course but is yet to submit a planning application to South Derbyshire District Council.

The county council wants to see the castle and gardens leased to Highgate Sanctuary, which would then lease the gardens back to the authority.

County council chief executive Nick Hodgson said public access to the park would not be reduced under the proposals.

But the Friends said they were astonished no planning application had yet been made and no other proposals for the castle were being considered.

Tory councillor John Harrison, cabinet member for finance and management, said there was no set date for the Highgate Sanctuary deal to be concluded.

He said negotiations between the firm and English Heritage were one cause for the lengthy wait but that he was "not aware of any disagreement between the two."

He refused to attribute blame, instead saying changes in personnel at both English Heritage and the county council had "not helped matters".

He said: "It's a question of English Heritage reconciling their requirements with the commercial needs of the preferred bidder. It's taking this length of time for there to be a meeting of minds."

He claimed the failure to set a closing date for English Heritage, South Derbyshire District Council and Highgate Sanctuary to complete the deal was down to the county council's former Labour administration.

But he admitted the Tories had never called for such a date to be decided. In contrast, he said they had asked for a time limit to be set on a previous bid for the castle by Seasons Holidays, which planned to create 40 to 50 timeshare apartments.

Mr Harrison said: "With the previous preferred bidder we called for a resolution. The reason for that was that we didn't feel they would have the resources to deliver. We didn't ask for it the second time around because we had more confidence in the bidder."

English Heritage said a draft of a "conservation deficit survey", which looks into how much the castle, outbuildings and other historical artifacts in the grounds would cost to refurbish, had just been completed.

Mr Harrison said this document would speed the process up.

He said: "Until this survey is complete, anyone who takes things forward would be buying a pig in a poke. They (Highgate) need to know what they are letting themselves in for before they can go ahead."

When asked if this meant Highgate Sanctuary might not have the cash to carry out its plans, Mr Harrison said he had been "given no indication" of this.

He said the council could not consider other bids for the castle until the current negotiations were concluded.

Mr Harrison warned there could be financial penalties if the agreement with Highgate broke down. He said: "If there's a breach of contract there's always a possibility that the affected party could seek compensation. They could exercise that or the county council could."

He said bringing the planning negotiations to a head was "a priority".

He said: "I very much hope the matter will be settled quickly but there is always the possibility the application will be called in by the Secretary of State.

"They might call it in because the castle is Grade II-listed."

English Heritage confirmed the draft of the conservation survey had been submitted to "involved parties" who had been invited to comment on it over the next few weeks.

A spokeswoman said: "English Heritage is committed to working with Derbyshire County Council to secure the long-term future of Elvaston Castle and its estate for the benefit of present and future generations.

"Any proposals for Elvaston Castle which require listed building consent and planning permission would be submitted to South Derbyshire District Council for their determination. As part of our statutory role in the planning system, English Heritage would be consulted on these proposals."

A Highgate Sanctuary spokeswoman said the long pre-planning process "was to be expected with a project of this nature."

She said that a planning application could be submitted this autumn with a decision possible this winter.

If that went in the firm's favour, she said restoration and building work could begin in spring 2011, with the hotel set to open two years later.

She said: "The delay has been down to the pre-planning process and nothing to do with financial reasons from our side."

No-one at Norseman Holdings, the firm assisting High-gate Sanctuary with project management, was available for comment.

Councillor Anne Western, leader of the county council's Labour opposition, said the Tories had "never given any sense" of wanting to do anything different with the castle when Labour was in charge.

Figures for how much the county council spent on running costs in 2009-10 were not available.

Elvaston Castle as we know it today started to take shape in the 19th century when the third Earl of Harrington, Charles Stanhope, commissioned James Wyatt to remodel the old house with its gothic facades and a new great hall. In 1830, Lewis Cottingham created the Gothic Hall and then, in the late 1850s, the south front was added by Henry Isaac Stevens.

The gardens, woodlands and pleasure grounds, which now have Grade II*-listed status, were created by the fourth Earl of Harrington in 1831.

Mr Harrison said it was because of the castle's historical importance the council could not afford to fail in protecting it.

He said: "It's too important to get it wrong so it will take time to get it right."

This is how the 10-year saga unfolded:

JULY 1999: English Heritage names Elvaston Castle as a building at risk.

JANUARY 2001: Two organisations short-listed to take over running of the castle – Mundial Invest SA and Seasons Holidays plc. The latter was selected as preferred bidder.

JUNE 2002: The council drops Seasons Holidays as its preferred bidder, after the company failed to provide information to support its plans.

JULY 2004: Mystery backer offers to spend £10m to save Elvaston Castle but the council says deadline has passed.

SEPTEMBER 2004: Council members back Highgate Sanctuary as their second preferred bidder

NOVEMBER 2005: Campaign group The Friends of Elvaston Castle launches legal action against the council by applying for a judicial review over its consultation which is later withdrawn.

JUNE 2008: Highgate Sanctuary says it plans to submit a planning application in Autumn 2008 with the hope of opening the hotel in 2011. Four months later it said the application was delayed because English Heritage is checking paperwork.

APRIL 2009: English Heritage says a "conservation deficit survey" expected to take at least six months must be carried out at the castle.

JUNE 2009: County council reveals the gardens, as well as the castle, would be leased to Highgate – with the company then leasing them back to the authority.

FEBRUARY 2010: Retiring Derby North MP Bob Laxton hands a petition against the castle being turned into a hotel and golf course in to Parliament.

MARCH 2010: Council says its Elvaston gardeners are being followed by mystery snoopers taking photographs and making notes.