The frontage of a former New Forest hotel which had connections to Sherlock Holmes writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle will be demolished.

The façade of Lyndhurst Park Hotel was set to be retained as part of a residential redevelopment of the site.

It will now be levelled and rebuilt to a very similar but not like-for-like design to serve as flats in developer Burry & Knight’s 79-home scheme.

The change of approach came about after what is left of the hotel building suffered “structural failure”.

Members of New Forest National Park Authority’s (NPA) planning committee approved the new plans following lengthy discussions at a meeting on Tuesday.

READ MORE: Work starts on scheme to replace landmark hotel with shops and housing

The committee heard from the applicant’s planning agent Giles Moir, of Chapman Lily Planning, and Julie Phelps, of structural engineers Calcinotto.

A report by Calcinotto had recommended the demolition of the building with a complete rebuild.

NPA members quizzed the pair on the timeline related to investigating the state of the hotel.

Burry & Knight’s previous plans to retain the façade were submitted to the NPA in January 2021 and approved in September 2022.

Hoburne Developments purchased the site at the end of October 2019.

Ms Phelps said prior to this the existing building had experienced significant water ingress.

She said part of the building had partially self-demolished, while other areas were in danger of collapse in the near future.

READ MORE: Concerns over state of 100-year-old Lyndhurst Park Hotel

Tests on the brick work revealed parts of the structure were far weaker than permitted levels.

The proposals to retain the façade were made before any materials testing was carried out, Ms Phelps said.

Conan Doyle was involved in the redesign of Lyndhurst Park Hotel in the early 20th century.

The Victorian Society objected to the new proposal to demolish the frontage and rebuild it, saying that all the historic structures of the locally-listed building would be lost, rather than restored.

This view was acknowledged by members of the planning committee, who also expressed reservations about the rebuild not being a complete match for what currently stands on the site.

They said it could look “pastiche”, with a plea for the applicant to use appropriate materials to reflect the building’s heritage.

The application was approved with conditions by a margin of five votes to three.