Flats conversion plan for former military hospital

Age UK had offices at The Lindens up until 2021

A Victorian master builder's family home which became a military hospital during World War II could be restored and turned into six flats.

The Lindens on Lincoln Road, Peterborough, was most recently the local base of Age UK, but has been broken into several times since the charity moved out in 2021.

An planning application to the city council stated the "substantially" damaged interior would be put right and the building returned to its original form.

"The building lends itself very much to provide a very good dwelling for six families," it added.

The 1860s-built house is on the council's list of heritage assets and boasts a blue plaque about its first owner, John Thompson Jr, whose company restored cathedrals nationwide.

It was later taken over for the treatment of wounded soldiers and had been a care home before its use as offices.

Cambridgeshire Police issued a full closure order on the property last year after it became a hub for anti-social behaviour including drug use, rough sleeping and criminal damage, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

A heritage statement, included in the application from ASR Construction, said it "must retain its heart and soul and continue to be a distinguished building in the street".

Planners will make a decision on the application at a later date.