A PLANNING application to convert Malvern's first hospital into housing has been submitted to Malvern Hills District Council.

Kempsey-based developer J Robinson has applied to divide Redwood House, in Hospital Bank, into three houses and put up a detached garage block around the back.

Built in 1868, Redwood House was the town hospital until 1911, when the current hospital in Lansdowne Crescent was opened.

It was taken over by a charity called the Malvern Boys' Club and later the county council's youth service, but it had been empty for many years and is becoming derelict.

The building is owned by a trust which includes Worcestershire County Council, MHDC and Malvern Town Council and was put up for sale last October.

It was Grade II listed in 2000 following concerns about its future. An attempt by the county council to have it delisted to increase its market value was unsuccessful. The county council, after consultation with the Charity Commission, has agreed that proceeds for the sale will go to benefit the young people of Malvern.

The planning application submitted to MHDC lists Mr Robinson as a "prospective purchaser" of the building and its 0.2 hectare site.

The hospital was built following a horrific accident in Church Street in 1866, when a cart carrying containers of concentrated sulphuric acid overturned. Two died and many were injured. Within days of the incident, fundraising for a town hospital had begun.

Mr Robinson could not be contacted for comment.