CONTROVERSIAL plans to replace a New Forest hotel with retirement flats have been thrown out after sparking more than 500 objections.

The New Forest National Park Authority (NPA) has rejected an application to bulldoze the landmark Lyndhurst Park Hotel and redevelop the site by building 74 apartments.

Plans submitted by Hampshire-based PegasusLife have been refused by NPA officers under delegated powers.

In a report they said the scheme, which also included 12 holiday lets, amounted to an extensive form of urban development that was "totally at odds" with the character of the site and its surroundings.

It added: "Insufficient importance has been given to the architectural and social history of the site."

The 60-bed hotel closed in 2014 with the loss of more than 20 jobs and was bought by PegasusLife, which is reported to have paid more than £5 million for the property.

Despite claiming the multi-million-pound scheme would enhance the area by replacing a "decaying" hotel the application attracted just four letters of support.

Some villagers welcomed proposals to flatten what they described as an eyesore and a blot on the landscape.

But objector Michael Grant, of Sandy Lane, Lyndhurst, told the NPA: “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.”

Other objectors included the Lyndhurst-based New Forest District Council, which said the proposed development, including the “blocky nature” of the main buildings, “lacks the imagination that would be expected for this sensitive landmark site”.

Built as Glasshayes House in about 1810, the hotel's history includes Poldark-style smuggling and even a visit by author Robert Louis Stevenson.

The NPA's decision to reject the application was welcomed by Hampshire historian Brice Stratford, one of the people who led the campaign against the proposals.

He said: "I'm very pleased - it's a great example of overwhelming numbers of local people doing the right thing and saying how they felt, resulting in this positive outcome."

The New Forest Association added: "Great result! The NPA has done the right thing."

Now campaigners must wait to learn if Winchester-based PegasusLife will appeal against the NPA's decision or submit a revised scheme. A company spokesman said it was too early to confirm its next steps.

Mr Stratford said he hoped to see a new proposal that involved the restoration of the hotel's historic core and also included affordable housing.