APPROVAL has been given for the redevelopment of the former Weymouth Trimar Hospice building at Greenhill.

It will see eight flats created on the site with the coach-house building converted to add an additional home. The site will offer a total of 18 parking spaces.

Concerns about the re-development were raised at an early stage in the consultation by several neighbours about the upkeep of the road and verges adjacent to Regency Court, which is used for access.

These are said to have now been addressed by the developers.

Weymouth town council welcomed the application and said it is pleased to see the fabric of the main building being retained, a view echoed by the Dorset Council conservation officer.

The planning application for the former hospice includes the demolition of outbuildings, including a large UPVC conservatory to the rear and the modern covered walkway at the side.

It had originally been proposed to demolish the coach-house building to the rear, described as ‘dilapidated’ but that will now be converted, instead.

The scheme, from Dorchester-based Longshore Developments Ltd, says the site was last used as a hospice and day care centre until August 2019 when Trimar moved to a new home in Cromwell Road.

Once conversion has taken place the site will provide seven 2-bed flats; one 3-bed flat and a 3-bed house at the coach-house. All of the flats, except one, would be accessed via the existing main door.

The house was built as a private residence, originally called ‘Massandra’, but was only briefly used and was taken over by the Red Cross during the First World War. From 1934 it was used as the town’s eye hospital, which continued until 1989 and was then converted to the hospice in the mid-1990s, officially opened by the Duchess of Norfolk in May 1996.