A DEVELOPER has won permission to turn empty buildings at Fordingbridge Hospital into homes.

Landmark Estates says it will turn the “redundant but much-loved” buildings into 11 flats and four houses.

The homes will be one and two-bedrooms and will include parking. Each will have a private outside space or communal gardens.

The 1885, Grade II-listed buildings were originally workhouses and became a public assistance institution in the 1930s.

The institution was incorporated into the NHS in 1948 and became Fordingbridge Infirmary.

In 2007, Fordingbridge Hospital vacated the buildings in favour of the more practical, new healthcare buildings behind the site.

Landmark Estates said the building project would begin in the next few months and should be finished by the second quarter of 2016.

Managing director James Bradley said: “The Fordingbridge Hospital is a much loved landmark in the local area and we are thrilled to be taking on the regeneration of such an important building.

“We will be able to restore the historic façade of the building and maintain it for future generations. We believe that these homes will be popular with local people who are looking for easy access into Fordingbridge but also to be close to the New Forest.”

Landmark Estates, founded in 1999, has offices in Hampshire, Dorset and London.