Dartmouth’s former NHS clinic could be saved for social use after the site was withdrawn from auction last week following a decision by South Hams District Council (SHDC) to list the building as an Asset of Community Value (ACV).

The Syon Place clinic was due to go up for auction for £475,000-£500,000 last Thursday, July 18, but was hastily withdrawn from a lot that included the former Dartmouth Hospital, which failed to sell.

Local community groups can nominate a property or piece of land, including recreational spaces, pubs and inns, as an ACV. The ACV listing – one of 26 sites across the South Hams - comes after the volunteer group Dartmouth Community Chest (DCC) filed an application for the clinic.

If approved, there will be a moratorium period extending for up to six months in which DCC has to agree terms on how to pay for the property.

Cllr Jonathan Hawkins, who revealed the news on social media, said he was “delighted” at the move as it would mean the building would be returned to the community.

DCC’s Dawn Shepherd said: “This will mean we can have a permanent base from which to grow our activities, especially as a focal point for delivering badly needed support services for the most vulnerable. We will also be able to work better with dedicated spaces for different activities, which we can’t currently offer. This is such an exciting opportunity, I do hope we can secure this soon."

Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust was asked to comment.

Hospital sale falls through...again

Meanwhile, Charles Darrow Auctioneers confirmed that there have been no registered bidders for the former hospital site.

It is the second time the sale has fallen through. In January, a ‘preferred’ buyer failed to close the deal, leading to this month’s auction.

However, Paul Heather, Charles Darrow’s director, said the building could be sold in a ‘post-auction’ deal in the coming days, adding that there “was more than one” interested party keen to develop the site for residential and commercial use.

“If we sell the property post-auction, it’s going to be on auction terms, so it’ll be exactly the same process as if (the successful bidder) bought it at the fall of a gavel,” he told this paper.

The fate of the former Dartmouth Hospital however remains undecided as it failed to sell at last week's auction
The fate of the former Dartmouth Hospital remains undecided as it failed to sell at last week's auction (Charles Darrow)

If there is a deal, contracts will be exchanged immediately with the addition of a 10 per cent deposit. The successful buyer will then have 20 working days to complete the transaction.

Failing that, the building could go up for auction again in September, although Mr Heather could not confirm if the £1.4m-£1.5m guide price would remain the same.

“There’s not many options left open to them (the Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust), it’s clearly got to be sold. This time around it wasn’t helped by the general election getting in the way,” he added.

The former hospital has been at the centre of a heated debate over its future.

Hundreds of local residents fought against the hospital’s closure in 2017, and last year councillors were incensed when SHDC lifted a 98-year-old covenant, stating that 16 per cent of the site would be designated for social use.