A former restaurant and hotel which have been boarded up for a number of years are going up for auction.

The Handmade Pie and Ale House in Queen Street, Weymouth and the adjoining Somerset House Hotel in King Street are being auctioned off separately with London based firm Acuitus.

The guide price for the former restaurant is £75,000, whilst the guide price for the former hotel has been earmarked at £175,000 - Both businesses ceased trading around the period of covid.

Dorset Echo: Pie and Ale House and Somerset House Hotel to be auctioned offPie and Ale House and Somerset House Hotel to be auctioned off (Image: Hollie Carr)

A nearby resident who did not wish to be named said: “Both properties have been empty for ages, I think people want to see it used, so it will be good if somebody buys them, the same as the Clipper in town.”

A spokesperson for Acuitus said: “The seller has got the properties up for sale separately. I think it will be well received.”

Bidding for the freehold of both buildings will commence on Thursday, May 9.

In 2020, Dorset Council approved plans for the former Handmade Pie and Ale House to become an annexe of the next-door seven-room Somerset Hotel with three rooms on the first floor and a lounge and toilets on the ground floor.

Dorset Councillor for the Melcombe Regis Ward Jon Orrell said: "Their loss is a real shame. We had a business meeting there. The pies were very tasty and the ale refreshing. The Somerset Inn had been refurbished well. I hope both reopen. They are both missed."

The Handmade Pie and Ale House opened in 2012 after owners Tony and Hazel Borton made the leap of moving their PieStop business from a humble van to a pie and ale house, and long before it was ever the Pie and Ale House, was formerly a pub called the Giant Pot.

The former eatery received high praise at the British Pie Awards across its years of service, winning a number of awards ranging from bronze to gold.

Another building that is in the process of being brought back to life in the town is ‘The Rectory,‘ also known as ‘The Clipper’ on St Thomas Street which has been snapped up by local commercial property agent DJ Property which has bought the property.

The Grade II listed building has remained empty since 2013 when it was abruptly shut when The Bramwell Pub group went into administration.