A car park in Eastleigh town centre could finally be redeveloped for housing 20 years after a retail warehouse on the site was demolished.

Leaders of the borough council approved a budget of up to £2.2million to fund the six-unit scheme in Hanns Way.

The brownfield site, which the local authority owns, was previously occupied by a retail warehouse before it was demolished in 2005 in anticipation of future development.

It has operated as a temporary pay and display car park on the corner of Wells Place and Hanns Way since being levelled.

Bringing forward the redevelopment had suffered several false starts over the years but civic leaders were confident of

Liberal Democrat cabinet member for health and social policy Cllr Tonia Craig said: “It’s been a long time coming and we have got an awful lot of people waiting on our Home Choice list for homes.

“This can only be a good thing to actually get people into accommodation.”

Council leader Cllr Keith House said the concept for the scheme came “many, many years ago” and the local authority had finally got the numbers to work.

“It puts a few more people in the town centre, which is good for shops and services,” Cllr House added.

He said the project was one of several small urban sites which had proved “seriously challenging” to get off the ground.

Planning consent for the scheme was granted in June 2023.

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Cabinet heard the design of the building was not the first iteration and it had gone through a detailed design process.

The budget covers the clearance of the site and construction of the residential block.

The council said their preferred financial model will allow the scheme to be delivered as affordable rent homes.

Funding will be sourced through borrowing, which will be repaid from the revenue generated from the development, and a Homes England grant.

If grant funding cannot be secured, the development would be delivered on a market rent basis.

A published timeline sees a contract procurement process will place over the next month, with construction starting as early as May and a target completion date of June next year.