FOR anybody seeking a redevelopment project in the heart of the Lake District, numbers 1, 2 and 3 Dub How, at Near Sawrey, are essential viewing.

On the market for £700,000, these three properties are ready for significant upgrading and renovation, say the agents, Davis & Bowring.

They consist of a period farmhouse with original features, and an attached barn that was converted into two houses around 1970 - all in all, around 460 square metres (4,959 square feet).

The conversion is described as being very much "of its time" and is now ready for modernising and improving.

The location could hardly be more picturesque, being south of Hawkshead, Esthwaite Water and Near Sawrey, and set among beautiful countryside, with a view towards Out Dubs Tarn.

For potential buyers, Dub How offers the opportunity to create one, two or three permanent residences or even a holiday home in the heart of the Lakes.

The residential properties are owned by the Graythwaite Estate, a major local landowner, and they have been long-term rentals.

Davis & Bowring say there is the potential to renovate all three houses and keep them as holiday lets, or sell on (there are no occupancy restrictions).

Alternatively, the local planning authority could be approached about the possibility of creating further units within the existing properties, or redeveloping them as one or two units, subject to planning consent.

Dub How boasts unspoilt views of the surrounding countryside, with no other houses in sight. As a business opportunity, the properties are well placed, enjoying the peace and quiet of a country lane and yet just minutes away from Near Sawrey, home of Beatrix Potter's Hill Top, a major National Trust attraction, and the popular Tower Bank Arms pub, which features in The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck.

Hawkshead is 2.7 miles to the north, the honeypot town of Ambleside is 7.8 miles away and the lake ferry service to Bowness is a two-mile drive.

The properties benefit from mains electric, private water, and drainage to a shared septic tank in the front field. Numbers 1 and 3 have oil-fired central heating and number 2 has solid-fuel heating off the wood burner.

All viewings are strictly by appointment with the agents as two cottages are still occupied, and people are asked to respect the privacy of the occupiers if viewing externally without an appointment.

www.davis-bowring.co.uk, tel 015242-74445.