First occupiers of homes at Lyndhurst Park Hotel to move in

Hoburne Development hopes the first occupants will move into new homes at the old Lyndhurst Park Hotel site before Christmas.

The only part of the hotel still standing is the historic façade, which was redesigned in 1912 with the help of Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of the famous fictional detective Sherlock Holmes.

Paul Campbell, director of Hoburne Development, on the balcony of one of the new homes (Image: Newsquest)

In 2021, the New Forest National Park Authority (NPA) gave the Christchurch-based company planning permission to redevelop the site on condition the façade was retained and converted into housing.

Recently it emerged that the building was in a dangerous condition, partly as a result of damage caused by thieves, vandals, and the weather.

A structural report submitted to the NPA said it was vacant for a long time - "unheated and unmaintained" - before being bought by Hoburne in 2019.

It added: "A section has partially self-demolished and further sections of the building appear to be in danger of collapse in the near future."

Paul Campbell, director of Hoburne Development, and Ben Shiers, director of Fells Gulliver estate agents (Image: Newsquest) Hoburne's application to demolish the facade is due to be debated by the NPA later this year.

If the scheme goes ahead, the company plans to replace the building with a like-for-like structure that aims to reflect the hotel's heyday.

Ben Shiers, director of Fells Gulliver, which is marketing the homes, said: "The level of interest in the properties is excellent. Where else could you walk straight from your home into the New Forest?

"This development has already given the High Street a new lease of life. The shop occupancy rate has seen a dramatic uptake."

The site, which dominates the eastern entrance to Lyndhurst, is being redeveloped in a three-phase scheme that will provide 79 homes ranging in price from £157,000 to £825,000.

Hoburne Development is seeking consent to demolish the historic facade of the hotel, pictured here just before it closed in 2014 (Image: Newsquest)

Half the 22 private apartments built so far are under offer and two of the three shops included in the scheme have already been reserved.

Part of the development will feature properties built under the government's First Homes scheme, which enables first-time buyers to purchase a property for substantially less than its market value.

The site is next to Lyndhurst's shopping and dinning area and only a stone's throw from the open forest.

Originally a country house, the 59-bed hotel closed in 2014 with the loss of around 20 jobs.