A FORMER doll hospital is going under the hammer..
The doctor's surgery turned doll hospital on Clifton Drive in Leftwich is to be sold at auction.
It has been sat empty for around a decade, becoming an 'eyesore' of the area.
But with news of the upcoming auction, there is optimism for the site’s future.
Cheshire West and Chester Councillor Andrew Cooper said: “This building has been virtually derelict for more than 10 years, and it was one of my missions after I was elected in 2019 to work out who owned it and try and get a better future for what is essentially an eyesore in the middle of Leftwich.
“I know there’s been a bit of interest around Leftwich in potentially doing something with this building, and I hope that this means we will now see a brighter future for this site in the heart of Leftwich.”
Councillor Cooper continued, explaining that the building was constructed alongside the rest of the Leftwich Estate in the 1950s.
It was used as a doctor’s surgery until the last GP, Dr Winifred McIllwrick, retired in the mid-Noughties.
Before her death in 2010, she had let the building out to a toy enthusiast, Alec Walsh, who turned it into a hospital for dolls.
Councillor Cooper managed to track down Dr McIllwrick’s only surviving relative, a nephew living in Scotland.
However, it turned out that Dr McIllwrick didn’t own the building and was paying rent to Northwich Urban District Council, which hadn’t existed since 1974.
Cheshire West and Chester Council’s property services team dug through the archives and found a minute from a meeting of Northwich Urban District Council in the 1950s, granting a lease for the building.
Satisfied that they owned it, the council registered the property with the Land Registry and late last year advertised it for community asset transfer, giving community groups a chance to take over the building.
However, there were no takers and it has now been decided to put the building up for auction, with a guide price of £25,000.
The auction, held by Town and Country Property Auctions, takes place on May 27.
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