The former Dartmouth and Kingswear Hospital will go up for auction on September 18, just months after failing to raise any bids at a previous sale, Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust has confirmed.

Jake O’Donovan, director of workplace at the NHS Trust, said “a number of interested parties” could make a bid on the site prior to the auction, which will be handled once again by the firm, Charles Darrow.

The property was put forward for auction on July 18 with a guide price of £1.4m-£1.5m, but it failed to sell.

Dartmouth’s former clinic also featured in the same lot as the hospital but was withdrawn from the auction after a volunteer group - Dartmouth Community Chest - filed an application to register the site as an Asset of Community Value (ACV).

Mr O’Donovan said the NHS would shortly be notifying South Hams District Council of its wish to dispose of the land under section 95 of the Localism Act 2011.

He pointed out that once this was done, local community groups would have six weeks “in which to express an interest to the Council in potentially bidding for the site”.

The NHS explained that both the former hospital and clinic need to be sold to help fund the town’s recently opened £5.4 million health centre, which houses the GP practice as well as a pharmacy and the charity, Dartmouth Caring.

The purpose-designed building is intended to support a more joined-up approach to health and wellbeing services for local people, the NHS said.