We don’t see many houses like this. A long-abandoned shop at 67 Broughton Street is up for auction on the 25th / 26th June, with Allsop auctioneers. We’re not sure when it was last in active use (any insights welcome) – but we do know it’s been boarded up for at least the last couple of decades.

It’s a vaguely triangular shape, at about 17 square metres (183 square feet), and is suggested as having possible potential for redevelopment (subject to obtaining all necessary consents).

There’s an open paved area at the front that seems to be part of the property which (with a convincing planning case) could maybe be partly developed as an extension of the property. Intriguingly there is also a very small outdoor yard area at the back, accessible through a door at the back of the main room. In an alcove at the back of the yard the walls are rendered in the shape of a small lean-to building, whose dimensions suggest it was an old-fashioned pit toilet.

There’s no currently operating electrical system – however it clearly has been connected to the network at some stage, as an old switch is visible in one room, and there’s a socket on the skirting board in another. There’s also a pipe and a tap in the back garden area, suggesting it does have some form of water connection, as well as a drain in the front yard that would provide for future sewerage – in other words, several of the utility connections that would otherwise take time and money to sort out are likely to be in place.

It’s not exactly in mint condition! This rather unloved building definitely needs a bit of TLC. But the £45,000 guide price is a bargain for a freehold property in this area, within a few minutes of a Zone 1 tube station – and we could see it being developed downwards (to create more space) or converted to a small house or office. As ever with auctions like this, you’ll need to have cash, and have your wits about you, as this is very much not a mortgageable ready-to-move-in-to property.

There are several of these small triangular buildings in and around the Queenstown Diamond, which seem to have been built as small shops, fitted in to the gaps at the end of the terraces that were created by the awkward rad angles. One is just few doors down the road a 70 Broughton Street – which has the same triangular shape, but which also had a small basement that seems to have been there from the start – was converted to a small one-bedroom house in the early 2000s.

Another one at 62 Broughton Street – with just one storey, but in this case without the tiny back garden – was converted to an architects’ studio at about the same time. This one (pictured above) was recently refused planning permission for conversion to a house. Not because it wasn’t suitable (after all, another one just along the road has bene converted!), but because the Council planners weren’t convinced by the argument that it has been used as a house for the last four years and hence gained a default ability to be converted without going through normal change of use processes.

It’ll be interesting to see how things go for this small building that’s full of potential. If this looks like the project for you, you’ll want to see Allsop’s website for full details of Lot 42, going up for auction on the 25th/26th June – they also have a good virtual tour of the building, and they are hosting open viewing sessions on the 16th, 19th and 23rd.

Lavender-hill.uk is mainly focussed on the Lavender Hill area of Clapham Junction. If you found this of interest, you may want to see our report on a similar ‘vintage’ property on Clapham Common nortiside, which has since found a new owner and is well on the way to being a fantastic house, as well as our wider articles on local environment, planning and housing issues. Some of our favourite articles are on local history, and if you live near this site you may also find our photo story on the Shaftesbury Estate of interest. To receive new posts by e-mail (for free), sign up here.