THE PLANNING application to remodel, renovate, conserve and convert the former Petersfield police station into a museum at a cost of about £2.5m has been submitted.

Museum trustee Bill Gosney said South Downs National Park Authority (SDNPA) planners received their plans last month and they were validated on January 12.

A Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) award of about £250,000 paid for the preliminary pre-application work to the Victorian building, and for surveys, architects and consultants.

Mr Gosney said before the plans were submitted, museum architects met national park experts twice to ensure they were happy with the proposals.

He added: “We think we have done everything the planners have asked us to do and of course we are hopeful the planning application will be successful.

“It takes about eight weeks for planners to arrive at a recommendation, and then the national park authority planning committee makes a decision on it, so we should know the answer by mid-March we think.”

Then, about the same time as that decision is expected, a second funding bid for around £1.3m will be sent to the Heritage Lottery Fund.

But a condition of the bid is that the museum has to almost match fund the amount it is seeking.

Mr Gosney said: “We have to raise £1,2m to access the Heritage Lottery money – we are doing well, we have had a lot of support from the town, and we are getting there, but there is still a long way to go.

“The lottery fund decision won’t be made until June so it’s fingers crossed. “

He added that if planning permission was gained and the lottery bid was successful, building work would start in early 2019.

The plans include a contemporary design link building between the police station on St Peter’s Road, and the former magistrates court behind it.

The link walkway will also be the museum’s main exhibition gallery.

Stables, once home to police horses, will be renovated, refurbished and converted into a study and research centre dedicated to the Steep war poet, Edward Thomas.

Cells in the police station which opened in 1858, will be renovated to form a central part of the proposed Victorian Justice study centre, that will occupy parts of the old police station.

Rewiring and re-plumbing will need to be done and some re-roofing could be needed.

Mr Gosney added: “It’s a very exciting time, the project is on time and on budget.

“We just need that planning permission.”