A landmark hotel left to fall into total disrepair has finally been sold and is set to be redeveloped.
The Bridge Hotel, Sutton Bridge, has long been an eye sore and has been bought and sold with no work carried out on the once iconic building.
After failing to sell at a recent auction, the building has now been bought by South Holland’s API Ltd and owners Rob Bridgewater and Jamie Sandford (pictured) hope to start work this summer.
“We will be submitting a planning application this week and hope to start in August,” said Mr Bridgewater.
The fire-ravaged hotel was up for auction in February, just over a year after it was sold at auction for £180,000.
At the time hopes were hopes that there would be a new future for The Bridge, but no work was ever started and it was re-listed for sale in February with a £180,000 guide.
Its new owners paid £160,000 for he building and, said Mr Bridgewater, nothing in it was viable for any use.
“There’s just nothing left inside, not even a fireplace,” he said.
“We have seen the potential and will use the main front and side. It is completely ruined and we are looking to create 15 residential apartments,” he added.
The company has already worked on a number of sites in South Holland, including the Red Cow in Donington and The former Chequers in Holbeach.
The Red Cow was also a derelict shell of what it had been and after a six-month project it was converted into 18 homes in 2022.
The Bridge Hotel, in its heyday, had 21 bedrooms and in November 2022 was sold by auction for £180,000, much higher than the £80,000 to £100,000 guide price.
It was bought by an out-of-area investment companies and South Holland District Council was priced out of the bidding.
It had hoped to take over ownership if it was left unsold and vowed to ‘keep the pressure on’ to try and ensure it didn’t remain derelict.
But after a year of inactivity the new owners put it back on the market and took a financial hit when it was sold to API privately.
Mr Bridgewater said the redevelopment would see one and two bedroomed apartments go on the market with the one bedroom style priced around £100,000.
The empty building was almost destroyed by a fire in 2016.
A former owner had been granted permission to demolish it and build new flats on the site.
