A £4.25million deal has been struck for the old Newton Abbot Hospital site and work on its transformation could begin within a year.

On the cards are potentially hundreds of new homes, both affordable and free market, plus possibly a care home, convenience store and vets' practice.

The 8.5-acre site in East Street, home to the town's hospital for 110 years (pictured right), went on the market in September 2009 after being superseded by the £25million state of the art facility at Jetty Marsh.

It has several Grade Two listed buildings and an area of woodland.

Devon NHS has sold the land to Blackpool-based firm Keyworker Homes Ltd. Managing director Eian Bailey told the Advertiser that two previous purchasers had pulled out after realising the constraints imposed by the steeply sloping land, the listed buildings and the project's role in the town's regeneration.

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