PICTURES: The former Savoy Hotel, which has been a major eyesore in the town of Sandown for several years, has now been completely demolished – a significant milestone in the regeneration of the seaside town.
During the early to mid 20th century the Savoy Hotel was a grand building that attracted visitors to Sandown, but over the years it fell into disrepair. After being turned into bedsit apartments it became a blight on the landscape of Sandown before finally becoming derelict.
In December 2011 a major fire ripped through the empty building, which saw over 50 firefighters from the Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service tackling the blaze throughout the night. The building had stood in a charred and dangerous state since.
An application was submitted to the Isle of Wight Council at the tail end of 2014 to not only demolish ‘Savoy Court’, but to build a block of 19 modern apartments with a complete transformation of the 0.19 hectare site. The plans were quickly approved by the Council in January 2015.
Ryde Demolition have over the past 12 months been working to clear the site, carefully demolishing each section. By October 2015 the adjoining houses had been demolished and work was well underway on bringing down the main fire-damaged building. By Christmas there was little left of the corner building, the focal point of the derelict site.
It was initially hoped the site would be flattened by February this year, but a mix of poor winter weather and other pressing demolition jobs has resulted in a delay to the completion of the work.
This week the final bricks have been brought to the ground, bringing the end of an era. Work continues at the site at the junction of Victoria Road and Avenue Road to clear the remaining rumble.
PICTURE GALLERY:
It is currently unknown when work is likely to begin on the new development, with the entire site having been put up for sale recently. When completed, it should be similar to this visual…
