A mink farm which was at the centre of a sustained protest campaign by animal rights activists might be about to disappear forever from the Northumberland landscape.

Cornyhaugh Farm near Ponteland hit the headlines in the late 1990s when it was targeted by anti-cruelty campaigners calling for it to be shut down because of the conditions in which mink were kept and killed for their fur.

It was eventually closed six years ago, in advance of a Government-ordered ban on fur farming which took effect in 2003.

Now farm owner Peter Harrison wants to demolish the 17 mink sheds, large concrete cesspits and two buildings used for an animal feed business at Kirkley Mill, where his family ran the fur business for 40 years.

He has applied to Castle Morpeth Borough Council for permission to build a new house on the site to fund the estimated £87,000 cost of clearing and restoring the former farm holding.

However, the plan could still face major problems because he will have to convince council bosses that there are special circumstances which justify allowing a new dwelling to be built in the countryside two miles from Ponteland.

Mr Harrison shut down the mink farm in 2001 after the Fur Farming (Prohibition) Bill was approved by the House of Commons.

It brought to an end a bitter campaign of protests and demonstrations at the farm which resulted in a number of animal rights activists being prosecuted for harassment.

The business was first targeted by the Cornyhaugh Fur Campaign in July 1997 in protest at the conditions in which the animals were caged and the annual slaughter of thousands of mink for their fur.

Mr Harrison claimed he and his family suffered abusive phone calls, death threats, a bomb hoax, video filming of his home and children and more than 500 separate protests at the farm. He and other fur farmers were later paid compensation for the loss of their businesses.

In a letter to Castle Morpeth Council, his agents Ward Hadaway say the proposed new house would pay for the demolition and restoration of the site.

They claim it is previously developed land and the scheme will improve the visual appearance of the site.

The alternative, they say, is that the former mink farm will be left vacant, continue to deteriorate and become an eyesore in the green belt.

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Freed animals running wild

Wild mink have been running riot in the North-East since fur farming was outlawed in 2003.

The animals, which have either escaped or been released from captivity, are understood to be a major reason for the fall in the water vole population, and have even been terrorising residents at Darras Hall, Ponteland.

Their numbers increased suddenly four years ago when enforced legislation banned fur farming and led to the closure of many farms, including Cornyhaugh near Berwick Hill.

In 2002, there were three sightings in less than a month in Darras Hall and one woman needed treatment after being bitten on the hand.

The American mink is an aquatic member of the weasel family and can grow up to 60cm long.