Derelict Isle of Wight hotel owner fails to show up in court

Stephen Purvis, who failed to appear in court, has resigned as a director of the company that owns the Ocean Hotel

The owner of a derelict seafront hotel, who was ordered to clean it up, has failed to turn up in court.

Stephen Purvis, owner of the Ocean Hotel on the Isle of Wight, was due to appear on Tuesday accused of failing to abide by a police order to secure the Sandown property.

Last year, firefighters tackled a blaze that tore through the historic building, prompting a police inquiry.

Mr Purvis, 41 and from County Durham, is due back in court on 4 October.

Phoenix Commercial Property Development (PCPD), from which Mr Purvis has resigned as a director, was issued with a Community Protection Notice (CPN) in June by Hampshire Constabulary, following a warning in May.

PCPD was given a month to board up all access points, install a perimeter fence and CCTV around the hotel but no action was taken, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

Second CPN in country

In July, Hampshire Constabulary said PCPD "acknowledged the receipt" of the CPN but failed to comply with its deadline.

At the time, Sgt Ben Sharland said it was only the second CPN to have been issued against a business or company in the UK.

Over the weekend, Isle of Wight police officers were called to the hotel on Sandown Esplanade after two teenage boys broke in and were seen to cause damage, LDRS added.

It comes after Isle of Wight council issued an enforcement notice against PCPD earlier this year.

PCPD appealed against the order, but a lack of communication and involvement from the firm saw magistrates throw out their case and restart the tidy-up order.

PCPD was ordered to pay the council's legal costs of £2,000.