When it was first built it was mansion, then a hotel - but what does the future hold for the Castle Mona?

The landmark building has lain empty since it closed suddenly in December 2006 and it has never re-opened.

The Sefton Group bought the building for about £4m in 2007 and had plans to restore it as a luxury hotel. However, these plans were scuppered in part after the financial crisis of 2008.

expectations

Whoever has bought the site will have to not only deal with public expectations, the former hotel is also a listed building, making development more of a challenge.

When London-based auctioneers LSH listed the building on its auction website, it stated that it could be possible to demolish part of the site to encourage development as only part of the building is registered.

When the Castle Mona Hotel was registered in October 1985, it was only the central former mansion house ’including the balcony railings but excluding the promenade shops’ and the outer wings of the building which were added latterly.

Since its closure, the Castle Mona has been subject to several ideas for its potential future.

These have included an art gallery, a £5m information and communications technologies university, later developed at the Nunnery, and an embassy for the King of Moraceae Foundation and self-proclaimed monarch His Majesty The Sole - real name Ian James Clanton.

Another plan that was also unveiled, which would have seen the outer wings demolished and rebuilt in the same fashion as the registered mansion house for use as an upper range hotel with private flats available for a range of prices.

None of these proposals ever come to fruition.

A freedom of information request had previously revealed there had been concerns raised over water damage and rising damp throughout the building, along with evidence of pests which will add to development issues and costs.

With the building being so prominent on Douglas Promenades, any mention of potential development of the building will always catch the Manx public’s imagination.