The old police station on Station Road in Hampton is set to be converted into a care home.

Richmond council's planning committee unanimously approved the plans at the meeting on April 21.

The former police station building, which was built in 1905, will be refurbished, but some of the rear wings and ancillary buildings will be demolished.

There will also be a new three-storey side and rear extension and a basement.

The site will be used to house 66 care beds for people with high dependency needs or dementia, and will be registered with the Care Quality Commission.

There will also be 22 care suites for people who want a bit more independence and privacy.

The police station was closed in 1968 to become a police office.

More recently the top storey of the police garage was used to house a collection of historic police vehicles and memorabilia, before the site was closed in 2014.

In 2017 an application was approved to turn the site into 28 homes.

The care home application was lodged in 2019 and has gone through two rounds of consultation.

The freeholder of neighbouring properties, Adam Crozier, told the committee he believed the plans would result in care suites overlooking into his living room.

Written objections from members of the public also included concerns about the loss of parking.

However, Guy Bransby, speaking on behalf of the applicant, Cinnamon Care, said they had set back the roof terrace by two metres, and included a privacy screen and planting to prevent overlooking.

He also said that the vast majority of residents would not be able to drive, but there would be 23 car parking spaces for visitors and a local minibus for residents.

He told the committee the plans would bring "a vacant building into use, meeting a rapidly developing need by providing specialist accommodation which will free up local housing stock for local people, providing 75 jobs for a range of skills."

Councillors seemed impressed with the proposals.

Cllr Michael Butlin concluded: "Whatever else happens in the world, there will be a need for this kind of service. It's a win-win."