CONTROVERSIAL plans to replace a historic Hampshire hotel with more than 80 new homes have split the local community.

After months of public consultation, PegasusLife has submitted an application to bulldoze the Lyndhurst Park Hotel and transform the site by building 74 retirement flats and 12 holiday lets.

The New Forest National Park Authority (NPA) has already received more than 20 letters from people living near the site.

Most object to the proposed demolition of the landmark building, which dominates the eastern gateway to Lyndhurst and adds “an air of elegance” to the village.

But other residents support proposals to flatten what they describe as an eyesore and a blot on the landscape.

Opponents of the scheme include Michael Grant, of Sandy Lane, Lyndhurst, whose letter says: “The whole plan is horrendous and not in keeping with the character of the village.

“The hotel is the face of Lyndhurst – it’s the first thing people see as they approach from the east.

“It gives the village an air of elegance. The proposed development looks like apartment blocks that belong in some vast development sprawl.”

Urging the NPA to reject the application he adds: “It’s your responsibility to protect us, our village heritage and our environment from inappropriate developments. Do not fail us.”

Other objectors criticise plans to use the site to provide additional housing for older residents.

Rosie Edser says: “I do not believe the community can sustain (potentially) 148 more elderly people. This will put pressure on the already stretched doctors’ surgery.

“Existing residents will find it even harder to get appointments. It will also create an artificial imbalance in the population.”

But the NPA has also received a letter describing the proposed development as a “superb” scheme that will benefit the village.

Another supporter of the application condemns the appearance of the hotel – part of a conservation area – and adds: “The sooner it goes the better.”

As reported in the Daily Echo, the building has been vacant since 2014 and is said to be in a poor state of repair.

Built as Glasshayes House in 1810, its history includes Poldark-style smuggling and even a visit by author Robert Louis Stevenson.

But the three-storey structure, part of which dates from the 1970s, is not a listed building.

The application includes a letter by PegasusLife principal planner Chris Cox, who says the hotel is no longer fit for purpose.

He adds: “There is a very high need for bespoke residential development aimed at meeting the needs of older people.

“This high quality development will deliver specialist housing and redevelop the site with a sensitively designed scheme that enhances the character of the conservation area.”