CONTROVERSIAL plans to bulldoze a landmark Lymington building have been thrown out.

Planners have rejected an application to demolish the former Wellworthy Social Club, in Stanford Road, and replace it with 13 homes. Councillors claimed that the design was not good enough for a prominent site in a conservation area.

Cllr Anna Rostand said that the proposed building looked like a cinema. She added: “It’s a landmark site and we don’t want to end up with a catastrophe.”

She also warned that people in the properties would have found themselves living on an island surrounded by busy roads.

“When it was a social club, there was nothing like the amount of traffic that we have today,” she said.

“I equate the area with Piccadilly Circus. This scheme would be like replacing Eros with a block of flats.”

Representatives from applicant Charterist Developments rejected criticism of the building’s height, saying that other buildings in the area were taller.

Councillors must now wait to see if Charterist appeals against their decision.