Lymington: Police site sold to Churchill Retirement Living

Churchill Retirement Living has bought Lymington's former police station after the proposed sale was approved by Donna Jones, the county's police and crime commissioner.

Churchill's application to replace the police station with more than 30 retirement apartments was rejected by New Forest District Council in 2021.

The company lodged an appeal but the council's decision was upheld following a public inquiry chaired by a government-appointed planning inspector.

An artist's impression of the scheme that was rejected last year following a public inquiry (Image: Churchill Retirement Living)

A revised scheme submitted last year was later withdrawn. The Lymington Society responded by saying the site should be sold to the council and used to provide affordable housing.

But Churchill has now bought the land, even though its latest plan has yet to be considered by the council.

A company spokesman said: "We have purchased the site as we expect the resubmission of our application to be successful, given that we have resolved the only issue identified by the inspector as justification for the appeal's dismissal."

READ MORE: Plan to replace Lymington police station with more than 30 retirement flats rejected by district council

The Lymington Society said it was "very disappointed" the site had been sold to Churchill "for another unwanted development of retirement flats".

It added: "When the recent planning application was withdrawn by Churchill we had real hopes the site would be bought by NFDC for affordable homes, which we need so badly for the key workers that keep the town running.

"It's clear a new local plan is needed that sets proper controls on the number of retirement flats that are built in a community."

Lymington police station has been vacant for some time. Officers have transferred to the town hall (Image: Newsquest.)

Campaigners have repeatedly urged Ms Jones not to automatically sell the site to the highest bidder.

But the commissioner said: "My role as the landlord of the police estate is to ensure I secure the highest price for sites which are no longer in use and re-invest the monies raised back into policing and crime reduction initiatives to make communities safer."

READ MORE: Churchill withdraws latest application to build flats on land occupied by former police station

Town councillors recently called for £1m from any sale to be spent on providing affordable housing in the area.

But Ms Jones said: "My budget is restricted to paying for policing and crime reduction services only. I have no legal powers to pay for social housing."

Churchill's chairman and chief executive, Spencer McCarthy, said retirement housing boosted the market by enabling downsizers to free up under-occupied properties for first-time buyers and key workers.