New Forest District Council has given the green light to plans looking to turn an empty high street office into a two-bedroom flat.

Developers are set to turn the first floor of the Grade II-listed 97 High Street in Lymington into a "generous" apartment that would boast a large bathroom.

The plans were first lodged in July 2024, and the ground floor of the property is still currently being used by a sweet shop called Truffles of Lymington.

Documents submitted as part of the application said that the office was bought by the current owner in 2020, and that it has remained empty since despite "multiple attempts to find a tenant".

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The application said: "Due to the recent pandemic and more people working from home, the demand for office space has drastically reduced.

"This, coupled with the fact that affordable housing is in great demand, means a change of use is a very logical solution.

"As the office is a recent addition to the building, the internal spaces have no original historic features to consider."

Sash windows and skylights are all set to be kept as they are now, which allows for "ample" natural light to pass into the newly-created rooms.

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A small conversion will see the office be turned into an apartment, putting in place a kitchen and living area, large bathroom, one double bedroom and one single bedroom.

As it stands, the current configuration has the first floor split into two office spaces, a large reception room, a toilet and a kitchenette - a similar floor plan to the proposed flat.

This is reflected in planning documents, which said the layout "allows a simple reconfiguration" of the space with "little impact to its surroundings".

The application received one objection from a local resident but was backed by Lymington and Pennington Town Council, which saw no issues with the plans.

Documents also said that the owner of the sweet shop below offered "great support" for the conversion.

"She has indicated that having a permanent resident in the property would offer security to the rest of the building, rather than a cold, empty office sitting vacant for future years," the application said.