A DERELICT town centre site is to be redeveloped after councillors gave approval for a housing scheme.The two-hectare former industrial site between Sheepen Road and Westway in Colchester – currently home to a car park and advertising hoardings – has been the subject of a number of failed planning applications.

A DERELICT town centre site is to be redeveloped after councillors gave approval for a housing scheme.

The two-hectare former industrial site between Sheepen Road and Westway in Colchester – currently home to a car park and advertising hoardings – has been the subject of a number of failed planning applications.

But now Colchester councillors have given the go-ahead to a plan by Mersea Homes and Hills Residential to build 181 residential apartments, 26 "lifestyle homes designed for home working", public open spaces and a new riverside walk along The Colne.

Members of Colchester Borough Council's planning committee felt the scheme would enhance the main approach to the historic town from the west and make a striking contribution to the townscape.

They approved the application subject to a legal agreement, with a range of design, landscaping and noise disturbance conditions. In the past, the land has been earmarked for a multiplex cinema and a leisure centre.