A DOCTOR’S surgery has been included as part of a plan to transform an office block in Hook into flats.

Stonegate Homes has applied for pre-application advice for its plan to alter the Greenwell building site at Bartley Wood Business Park.

The application is often a precursor to a full application.

The initial plan involves converting the existing building, and building two other blocks, which together will include a total of 71 flats.

There will also be commercial space at ground level, to include a doctor’s surgery, a nursery, a coffee shop and retail floor space.

Hart District Council has already approved a previous plan to convert the building into 113 flats.

The most recent application states that since Greenwell was built in the early 1990s, there has been a decrease in demand for office space in the surrounding area.

It added: “It is considered that the introduction of some commercial activity will help serve the existing office stock which surrounds the site and also serve the occupants of the new flats on site.

“The commercial area provided is small enough to ensure that it would not detract from the viability of the town centre and it is sufficient in size to meet the needs of the surrounding development.”

The developer said that other options had been considered, such as a hotel, bar and gym, and a new build fully residential scheme, but those plans did not provide enough car parking spaces.

Hart District Council is set to make a decision on the pre-application proposal by Thursday, September 3.