Four detached properties that were formerly part of Margate’s Royal School for Deaf Children have been sold for £1.5million.
The Allens in Park Crescent Road, Margate, had a freehold guide price of £900,000 at the Clive Emson auction but went under the hammer for substantially more.
Allen Rise, Allen House, Allen Villa and Allen Lodge share a communal driveway and are in need of refurbishment. They were among 140 lots listed for sale by Clive Emson.
Two ‘Allens’ have five bedrooms and two have six; they might be converted into flats or HMOs or there might be the possibility to develop the whole 0.7 acre site if consents are available.
Auctioneer Kevin Gilbert said: “These are substantial properties that could be sold as family homes, but the new owner might choose to divide them up into flats or renting rooms.
“There are no permissions for changes at the moment and any changes would require the necessary consents to be obtainable.
“We had a great deal of interest in this lot and the final price paid was £1,556,000 – well above the £900,000-plus guide price.
“There were developers and investors keen to secure the lot and we will wait and see what the new owner does.”
Margate’s Royal School for Deaf Children shut down suddenly in December 2015 after The John Townsend Trust, which ran it, went into administration.
The distressing closure of the school and Westgate College resulted in some 500 job losses and scores of children left without a specialist school placement.
Last year Kent County Council put forward a potential 200 home development at the site as part of Thanet council’s Local Plan review.
The land had been earmarked for a new secondary school but in 2021 this proposal was ditched for a second time by KCC following discussions with the Department for Education over the forecast of pupil numbers in the district.
