PLANS to replace a semi-derelict town centre factory with blocks of flats has been ‘called in’ by South Downs National Park planners.

Developers 6a Vision of Petersfield want to knock down the former Tews Engineering building next to the rail station car park in Lavant Street and replace it with 33 flats.

They also want to refurbish and reopen the building on the corner of the entrance to the Tews site and Lavant Street as a shop or café.

Planning applications are usually decided on behalf of the national park by East Hampshire District Council.

But national park planning director Tim Slaney believes this proposal will have an impact on the Lavant Street Conservation Area, the wider town, and the national park itself.

He said: “It has the potential to have a significant impact on the purposes for which the South Downs National Park has been designated, in part being an application that is classed as ‘major’.

“The site occupies a prominent plot in Petersfield, partially within the conservation area.

“Given the scale of the application and the prominence of the site, the proposal has the potential to have a significant impact, so the application shall not be determined by East Hampshire District Council but by SDNPA directly.” In the planning proposal, the developers say the site is an eyesore, and off-putting to visitors to the town and national park.

They believe their proposals will greatly enhance the area that is virtually the first thing rail visitors to the town see.

In a statement, 6a Vision said: “The site forms an important bookend to the historic buildings along Lavant Street connecting Charles Street to Petersfield train station, a key arrival point for rail commuters to the town and visitors to the South Downs National Park.”

Find out about planning applications that affect you by visiting the Public Notice Portal.

To comment on the plans, search for reference SDNP/22/04504/FUL online at https://tinyurl.com/SDNPAplans