CIVIC chiefs have approved a multi-million-pound plan to provide more than 40 new homes in an upmarket Hampshire town.

Ringwood-based Churchill Retirement Living, recently crowned Housebuilder of the Year, has been given the go-ahead to transform a site at North Close, Lymington.

The proposal sparked 22 letters of objection from people living near the town centre site.

Protesters said the scheme was out of character and amounted to over-development.

They also claimed that the flats would create extra traffic problems in the area as well as harming the privacy of existing North Close residents.

A report to district councillors said the authority’s planning policies sought to ensure the retention of employment sites in the district.

But it said North Close is a mainly residential area and added: “It’s not a site which offers ideal access for industrial traffic and, given the surrounding residential environment, is not a location where employment uses would normally be promoted.”

The report said the retirement flats would have less impact on neighbouring homes than previous and potential uses of the land.

It added: “While there are some reservations about the size of the building the scheme is worthy of support and would have an acceptable relationship to neighbouring properties.”

Councillors approved the scheme by 12 votes to four following a presentation by Spencer McCarthy, Churchill’s chairman and chief executive.

The company says the scheme will improve the town centre site, which is currently occupied by industrial and commercial buildings and an empty bungalow.

Welcoming the council’s decision, Andrew Burgess, Churchill’s planning director, said: “This is very positive news for Lymington.

“The development will follow the same highly successful pattern of all Churchill lodges, providing high-quality, self-contained homes in attractive landscaped grounds.

“There’s a real need for private retirement housing in the Lymington area and this scheme will go some way to increasing access to this type of housing for local residents.”

Building work is expected to start in the spring. The exact cost of the scheme has not been revealed.