Goldcrest Custom Homes submits planning application to New Forest National Park Authority for 15 homes on site of former Fenwick hospital in Lyndhurst

PLANS for 15 homes have been unveiled on the site of a former New Forest community hospital which was at the centre of an ownership row.

As reported in the A&T, the former Fenwick hospital in Pikes Hill, Lyndhurst, was sold by the NHS despite residents’ outcry and claims it had been gifted to the village by its founder George Fenwick.

London-based Goldcrest Custom Homes, which bought the site in 2023 for £825,000, has now submitted a planning application to the New Forest National Park Authority for the site, which would be a mixture of two and three bedrooms. Of these, two would be affordable homes

The application also seeks permission for the part demolition of the main hospital building, and conversion of existing cottages, to create a total of 15 dwellings.

The scheme is a reduction on the initial plans for the site, which were revealed last year, and included a total of 20 homes comprising two, three and four-bedroom properties.

The application states: “The development will be of high quality, built sustainably and will take inspiration from local character and the site’s history to ensure a harmonious integration of the new development and the existing community.

“The proposed dwellings would provide a range of modern, fit-for-purpose accommodation types, helping to meet identified needs. The historic element of the former Fenwick hospital would be retained and reinstated, therefore sustaining and enhancing the significance and the contribution.”

Vehicle access would remain from Pikes Hill, with the main access leading into a estate road that “provides connectivity throughout the site”. The current 45-car parking spaces would be reduced to 30, and 45 cycle spots would be created.

Opened in 1909, it closed as a hospital in 2005 and was run as a health and wellbeing centre by Social Care in Action (SCiA) from 2008 to 2022.

When the site first came on the market, the League of Friends of Fenwick Hospital had hoped to secure the site as a community asset. But its chair George Dibben said that while it had been offered first refusal to buy the land, it was not financially possible for the group.

A Goldcrest Custom Homes spokesperson told the A&T: “[We] are delighted to bring forward proposals to transform the former Fenwick hospital site – which is currently vacant and underutilised – into much needed new homes [and] deliver two affordable homes at discount market sale to be sold to local families.

“The former Fenwick hospital provides a unique opportunity to provide a new high-quality neighbourhood on brownfield land, rather than the green belt. Goldcrest Custom Homes have spent over 18 months consulting with neighbours, including a wider public exhibition event, the local parish council and the New Forest National Park Authority before proceeding with a planning application to ensure that the new homes have been designed sensitively to complement the character and scale / appearance of the local area.”

A public consultation on the plans ends on 6th June, after which the NPA will make its decision.