THE former Essex County Hospital site looks set to be turned into 110 homes.

Essex Housing intends to build a mixture of one to three-bedroom apartments and three and four-bedroom town houses at the historic Colchester site.

It says the proposals will conserve and restore key buildings, including the Grade II listed main hospital building, whilst others with minimal historic or architectural value will be removed and replaced with modern new-build elements which developers say will complement the site and surrounding area.

Long lost open space in front of the main hospital building will also be revived and there will be landscaping and parks throughout the development.

There could also be measures to promote sustainable transport including cycle storage, an electric vehicle car-club and charging points.

The plans will be put to the community who will be encouraged to give their feedback.

The public events will take place at the Colchester English Study Centre in Lexden Road just across from the hospital site.

Residents can drop in at any time from 11am to 2.30pm on Saturday May 18, or from 4pm to 8pm on Wednesday May 22.

A planning application will be submitted to Colchester Council later this year and it will have the final say.

Essex County Council owns the County Hospital site and Essex Housing is its in-house development arm.

Heritage experts Historic England have been working with Essex Housing’s design and planning teams on the proposals for the 4.5 acres site.

The iconic hospital closed its doors for the final time in November.

Any remaining services were transferred to Colchester Hospital in Turner Road or the neighbouring Primary Care Centre.

To coincide, the Primary Care Centre underwent a £6.4 million redevelopment to ensure treatments are continued but in modern, enhanced facilities.

The centre opened in 2006 and the cash injection has converted its first and second floors, which were used as office space, into a base for clinical services.

Essex County Hospital, which opened in 1820, closed because it was no longer suitable as a modern health care setting.

The process to shut down the site had been a gradual one and took place over four years after the closure was agreed by hospital directors.