The Isle of Wight council and Hampshire Constabulary has denied claims made against them by the former freeholders of the Ocean Hotel in Sandown.
In a statement to the press earlier this week Phoenix Commercial Property Development (PCPD) revealed it has walked away from the derelict Sandown eyesore and the Isle of Wight.
The company has sold the freehold to an American property investment company, who is said to be selling it immediately on to an overseas developer.
PCPD: Accused IWC and Police of “nothing short of a witchhunt”
In its statement, PCPD say the action taken against it by both the Isle of Wight council and Hampshire Constabulary has been “nothing short of a witchhunt, motivated by local politics.”
It also claims to have not been served with any criminal notice by the police and to be appealing a decision made against them by magistrates, in favour of the Isle of Wight council, to the crown court.
IWC: No appeal received
In response to the claims, the Isle of Wight council said it has not received any notice of an appeal.
Investigations reveal one may have been lodged, but with Durham Crown Court. The Isle of Wight Crown Court says it has not heard anything about the appeal since it was lodged and has not been asked for any further information to support it.
Today, the council has confirmed, again, it has been sent no notice of the appeal, from either court.
Durham Crown Court has been approached for clarification.
Dispute over Community Protection Notice
On 7th July — four days before the Community Protection Notice deadline — Hampshire Constabulary confirmed PCPD had ‘acknowledged receipt’ of the notice.
However, the company deny this and said it believes the police may have served the notice to an incorrect address, but it was ‘certainly a false statement’ to claim they had acknowledged receipt.
Hampshire Constabulary confirmed yesterday (Thursday, 15th September) that the company was served with a CPN and police are investigating an alleged breach as such.
The process is currently going through the courts, so the police were unable to confirm anything further.
Non-appearance from Purvis
The matter came before the Isle of Wight Magistrates Court for the first hearing on Tuesday 13th September, where Stephen Purvis, now a former company director at PCPD, was supposed to appear.
Mr Purvis was not present, however, so the case was adjourned until 4th October.
A spokesperson for the police force said they are aware of the company’s intention to appeal police action and are reviewing the matter.
Neither public body wished to respond further to the comments made by PCPD.
This article is from the BBC’s LDRS (Local Democracy Reporter Service) scheme, which News OnTheWight is part of. Read here to find about more about how that scheme works on the Island. Some alterations and additions may have been made by News OnTheWight. Ed
Image: © Isle of Wight Council
