PLANS to convert Malvern's disused youth hostel into homes have been sent in to Malvern Hills District Council.

The applicant is Regal Executive Homes, based at Sandys Road in the Enigma Business Park.

The Youth Hostel Association closed the Peachfield Road hostel and put it on the market last autumn, after deciding not to invest £450,000 in necessary repairs to the building.

The plan calls for the conversion of the main house into seven flats. The developers also want to convert an outbuilding into a house, and build two more brand-new houses, each with five bedrooms, on land behind the main building.

When the hostel closed last year, the YHA said it would be looking round for a new site in the town, perhaps closer to the centre.

"We haven't identified any new sites, it's not on our priority list for this year," said YHA regional manager Charlotte Judson this week. "However, it is a priority on our five-year plan.

"We've started discussions with a number of people and organisations, but nothing has come to fruition yet."