DEVELOPERS have launched another attempt to bulldoze a Hampshire hotel with links to the creator of Sherlock Holmes.

PegasusLife has lodged an appeal after being refused permission to replace the historic Lyndhurst Park Hotel with 75 retirement apartments and 15 affordable homes.

The appeal will be heard at a six-day public inquiry which is due to take place later this year.

Plans to build 74 flats and 12 holiday lets on the site were thrown out by the National Park Authority (NPA) last year.

PegasusLife went back to the drawing board and came up with an alternative scheme that included affordable homes, but that was also rejected after sparking 860 objections.

Now the company has appealed against the NPA’s second decision in a hope that a government-appointed planning inspector will allow the proposed development.

The original hotel was redesigned in 1912 with the help of legendary author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who lived at nearby Brook and was a frequent visitor to the building.

The Victorian Society and the Georgian Group both lodged objections to the proposals to redevelop the site.

A report published by the NPA said the revised scheme was similar to the application which was rejected at the start of 2017, adding that the hotel’s direct link to Conan Doyle had increased its heritage value.

But the organisation’s decision to refuse the second proposal came under fire from PegasusLife.

In a statement issued at the time it said: “It’s disheartening that the provision of housing for older people is so often disregarded.

“People over 60 want attractive, future-proof homes that will remain suitable for the rest of their lives. We know this from the enquiries we get every week from people living in Lyndhurst who are desperately keen to find a smaller, more manageable home to live in.”

The statement also referred to the company’s decision to replace the proposed holiday lets with affordable homes.

It said: “It’s disappointing that this amendment to our application has been largely ignored by campaigners, despite being raised by locals as a key reason for the original refusal.

“It’s a position that has twice been rejected by Historic England, a public body tasked with championing historic places and helping the public to understand, value and care for them.”

The 60-bed hotel closed in 2014 with the loss of about 20 jobs.