A former police station has sold for more than a million pounds before going under the auctioneer’s hammer.

Land occupied by a derelict station in Woodbridge went up for auction after permission was granted for its conversion into 14 flats.

The site in Grundisburgh Road had been expected to sell for £925,000 by Essex land and property auctioneer Dedman Gray, but was sold before the sale on Wednesday, March 29 for £1.1m.

In February, Marden Homes won planning permission at the third time of asking – having been twice turned down before Suffolk Coastal agreed that revisions had addressed previous concerns.

It was predicted a buyer could reap up to £3.8m in gross development value following construction.

Although policy requires one in three new homes to be affordable, planners were satisfied that Marden Homes complied with an exemption to the rule, by proving that economies of provision would make it unviable.