A PROMINENT corner building in Sandown is being auctioned.

The long-empty property, pictured, has a guide price of £300,000-plus and is among the latest lots listed by land and property auctioneers Clive Emson.

On the remainder of a 955-year lease from 1904, and at a ground rental of £32.05 shillings per annum, the dilapidated, fire-damaged premises is located at 52, 54 and 56 Fitzroy Street and 66 and 68 Station Avenue.

Earlier this year, the derelict buildings were mooted as being the subject of the council's first Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) since the renewal of its Empty Property Strategy in 2019.

Now, however, they are up for auction.

Rob Marchant, Clive Emson’s Isle of Wight auctioneer, said: “The issues regarding this property laying empty for a considerable number of years are well documented.

“The local authority is on the record for considering a Compulsory Purchase Order to get the premises back into residential use, with £405,000 cited as the estimated value.

“There is now an opportunity for a buyer to come forward to breathe new life into the premises, which previously included shop units and flats.

“It is considered that the building is ideally suited to a solely residential use and conversion into apartments, subject to planning consents.”

Other properties up for auction include:

22 Barton Road, Newport: Currently let at £3,900 per annum on an assured tenancy, the three-bedroom house is guided at £80-90,000 as a freehold investment.

30 Albert Street, Ventnor: A freehold investment, this property is guided at £73,000-plus. The two-bedroom house is let under an assured tenancy agreement, at £3,380 per annum.

Two houses at 1 and 1A Ocean View Road, Ventnor, have “splendid” views of the town and the English Channel from the first-floor windows and are guided at £180,000-plus.

On a remainder of a 986-year lease, number 1 has one bedroom and a small garden to the side and 1A three bedrooms, with small courtyards fronting Ocean View Road.

Rob said: “Both residences need upgrading and refurbishment and are worthy of the improvements required.”

The current ground rent is £10 per annum.

Prospective purchasers have a chance to make it a hat-trick by acquiring the first three houses on the terrace as the other one, number 3 Ocean View Road, is also in the auction.

Number 3 is guided freehold at £90,000-plus, with two bedrooms.

Rookley Villa, Marlborough Road, Ventnor: A detached Victorian residence, comprising four self-contained flats, is guided freehold at £230-250,000.

Rob said: “Three of the flats are vacant and the fourth is held under separate ownership under the terms of a 99-year lease from 1977, the year of the Queen’s Silver Jubilee.”

Bidding is live from Monday, May 3, with the auction ending on Wednesday, May 5.