Now, when I were a lad, every village had at the very least the following basic amenities… a church, a primary school, a pub, a shop and a bank or building society (yes, I know, it shows how old I am).

In recent years, pubs have been vanishing faster than Scotch mist in the sun and judging by the number of chapel conversions on the property market churches are going the same way.

One interesting trend in the last decade, however, has been that of banks and building societies attempting a comeback in village and small town life.

Not a trend that was to last, obviously. You can’t make a billion pounds a year and give yourself eye-watering bonuses if you waste money on nonsense like actually serving local communities (ooh, we’ve come over all political).

Swings and roundabouts, however, and there are now commercial premises which are returning to domestic use.

Take 41 Main Street, Bishopthorpe, for instance. It was built originally as a house and then became the open offices for a building society. And now it is about to revert to its original purpose as a family home.

And, having glanced at the plans, a very nice home it would seem, too… Planning permission has been granted to provide for a home which includes a hallway, living room, dining room, kitchen and the added bonus of a family room/study. Upstairs, the plans would give you a master bedroom with en-suite shower room, two further bedrooms and a house bathroom.

Sitting in a prime location in a popular village, this seems an interesting opportunity for someone who wants to create a home of their very own.

If you are an interested party then you should get in touch with Y Homes on 01904 707181. They are looking for offers over £225,000. The sale is by informal tender and the closing date is Friday, April 15.

Continuing the theme of properties with development potential, we were happy to stumble across the catalogue for Auction Stephenson’s next, well, auction. It’s due to take place at the York Auction Centre in Murton on Tuesday April 19.

(Actually, we didn’t stumble across it at all, our good friend Henry Scott from Stephensons sent it to us.) Some interesting properties are set to go under Henry’s hammer, many with that development potential we’ve made this week’s theme.

Two properties that particularly caught our eye were an established five-bedroomed property in Easingwold and a barn ripe for conversion in Barlby.

The first of these is Kirby Cottage; centrally located in Easingwold, it is a sprawling property which offers among its highlights living, dining and family room/conservatory and a kitchen which ‘requires complete modernisation’. Upstairs there are five bedrooms and a bathroom (a bit of TLC here, too, might show a splendid return). Other points of interest include a substantial range of outbuildings including a detached coach house with the potential for full redevelopment. Lots of potential indeed… the guide price is £425,000 - £450,000.

And if you are in the market for a barn to convert, the same catalogue will give you details of a barn adjacent to Mount Pleasant Cottage at Barlby; this offers a good rural location with plenty of land included and parking spaces for two cars. At £60,000-£70,000 it’s definitely worth a look for Handy-Andys.

If you want to see more details or the full auction catalogue then get in touch with Henry on 01904 486700.

And to round off our “now for something different” column, we picked up on another development opportunity, this time in South Newbald. Here, there’s a detached bungalow occupying a decent plot of land in the village which you could either go in, roll up your sleeves and completely remodernise – or knock it down and start all over again (well, there is an ‘in principle’ planning agreement on the latter action). Interesting history here as the property was at one time an officer’s mess during World War I (ah, if only walls could talk).

With that kind of land and with that kind of potential aforesaid Handy-Andys may well be interested at a guide price of £100,000. If you’re up for it then contact Rm English’s Market Weighton office on 01430 871014.