A project to turn a historic listed building in Maldon into 30 new homes has been given a £250,000 boost.

In August Essex Housing, a new section of Essex County Council, applied to Maldon District Council to convert Friary East into nine apartments, two townhouses and a further 19 flats on the site in Carmelite Way.

The building dates back to 1292 when it was founded as the Carmelite Friary – a house for the religious order of the Carmelites.

The county council purchased the site in 1946 and it was used as a youth centre until the early 2000s, and an adult community learning centre until 2014.

It has been vacant ever since.

The application is still to be determined by Maldon District Council but has received 25 objection comments from the public.

However County Hall has been handed £255,735 to drive the plans forward.

The cash has come from the Government’s land release fund which helps councils release unused or surplus land and property to help with the housing shortage.

The fund aims to ensure buildings in public ownership do not drift into disrepair or lay empty.

The money will be spent on “enabling works” which will prepare the site for construction to begin.

Sue Lissimore, councillor responsible for housing at County Hall, said: “This is wonderful news and a great example of how partners working together can secure enormous benefits for their communities and the people who live in them.

“The funding will be a major boost to partners in Essex as we strive to build the homes our county so desperately needs, helping to bring forward surplus land, which in turn will boost the Essex economy.”