Cr Jarvis said yesterday it was frustrating to learn that Gunns had put the two Ling Siding sites up for sale after stripping valuable assets from them.

"I have learned today that key infrastructure including moulders, kilns and buildings will be removed from the sawmill sites at Ling Siding," he said.

"I can only conclude that they are looking to limit any potential competition to the company's Bell Bay mill by lessening the chances of a new forestry based operation being established on the sites."

That did the North-East no favours, he said.

"The council has (already) had expressions of interest from veneer and engineered timber interests who are looking for viable sites in the North-East," he said.

Shepherd & Heap director Andrew Heap confirmed yesterday that the two Scottsdale mill sites and four other Gunns' properties were officially on the market.

He said that the sales would not include equipment and infrastructure or any attached wood allocations.

The other properties to be advertised in tomorrow's newspapers besides the Scottsdale Ling Siding mill site and the Scottsdale Tonganah mill site are the Ling Siding office site, on four titles; the Somerset mill site, on seven titles; the Deloraine mill site, on one title, and the Western Junction mill site, also on one title.

Mr Heap said that there had already been a deal of interest shown in a number of the sites.

He expected the two former Scottsdale mill sites to attract interstate attention.

There was no closing date on the expressions of interest.

"They are on the market until we sell them," Mr Heap said.

He said that the portfolio of sawmilling properties were among the more unusual sales that his company has been involved in but not the biggest.

"We usually sell hotels and that sort of thing but anything from $500,000 to $10 million," he said.