A pub and hotel which never reopened after the Covid lockdown is set to go under the hammer once again.

The Freemantle, which sits on the corner at the junction between Paynes Road and Park Road, has 'scope and potential for development' according to auctioneers.

It was first listed in November 2024 with a guide price of £400,000 to £450,000.

The 10-bedroom building, which has been vacant since closing at the start of the pandemic in 2020, was then relisted in February.

Clive Emson Auctioneers has now slashed the guide price on the hotel down to between £360,000 and £380,000 for an online auction on March 18.

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Mike Marchant, a senior auction appraiser for the auctioneers, said: “This freehold commercial property has 10 bedrooms, with scope and potential for development, subject to planning consents.

The Freemantle's interior saloon bar area.The Freemantle's interior saloon bar area. (Image: Contributed) “On a corner plot of nearly 0.16 acres, the freehold property hasn’t been traded from for many years and the former saloon bar has been converted to form a one-bedroom dwelling.

“The upper parts have been recently renovated and comprise a two-bedroom unit which would have formally been the manager’s accommodation.”

The vacant building is opposite BP’s Shirley petrol station and has space for cars to be parked at the front of the property.