Former hospital to go up for auction again

The site of a former hospital in Devon is going up for auction again, health chiefs have confirmed.

Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust said the former Dartmouth and Kingswear Community Hospital would be auctioned on 18 September.

It will be the third attempt to dispose of the property, which was one of a number of community hospitals closed by the trust in 2017.

The building, on the embankment overlooking the River Dart, was nearly sold in January but the preferred bidder fell through.

The reported guide price at the July auction was about £1.5m.

Jake O'Donovan, director of workplace for the trust, said there was "a number of interested parties who may make a bid on the site prior to auction".

"We will continue to ensure that any sale of either site is in line with the NHS estate code," he said.

South Hams District Council approved an application to have the building registered as an asset of community value, meaning community groups will have six weeks to express an interest in bidding for the property.

The trust said the site was no longer needed for healthcare and needed to be sold to help fund the recently opened £5.4m health and wellbeing hub in the town.

Mr O’Donovan said: "The new centre supports a much more joined-up approach to health and wellbeing services for local people in state-of-the-art, purpose-designed facilities."

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