NEW family homes look set to be built on a long-derelict former industrial site in the centre of Southend.

Southend Council is expected to agree plans for 28 two and three-bedroomhomes on the site of a former laundry and warehouse between North Road and Salisbury Avenue today.

Six of the 12 two-bedroom houses would be handed over to a housing association to rent out as affordable housing and the development follows the building of a new health centre and the regeneration of the former North Road Chapel as offices.

The laundry, which occupied the site since 1948, was closed just under a decade ago and demolished a few years ago.

Ian Gilbert, Labour councillor for Victoria ward, in which the site lies, said: “I’m pleased we are getting family homes and I’m pleased we are getting an allocation of affordable housing.

“We called for renovation in that area.”

Seven homes will face on to Salisbury Avenue, with six behind them. Three properties would face on to North Road, next to the new health centre, with the remaining homes within the site, which is more than half the size of a football pitch.

The plans include 30 parking spaces, which planners have agreed is enough for a site so close to the town centre and key transport links.

Parking for the 13 houses to west of the site would be under a “garden deck”, raised to first floor level.

The council refused draft plans for 29 homes on the site last year, but developer Venture Capital Associates has come back with a more suitable design.

Since the laundry closed, the site has becomeamagnet for flytipping.

Two derelict houses in North Road are not included in the site.

Mr Gilbert said: “There have been a number of positive developments in North Road recently.

“The laundry site has been derelict for many years. It has been a source of problems.”