AN empty industrial unit is set to be transformed into ten new flats.

Castle Point Council has recommended an application to demolish a former building merchants site in Folksville Road, Canvey, is approved. It will be replaced with a three-storey block of flats. The plans include 12 parking spaces.

In planning documents, a spokesman for Canvey-based Contour Architectural Designs, claim the new block will fit in with the surrounding character of the island – including nearby Castle View School.

He said: “The proposals are to demolish the existing buildings on site and construct a new three-storey block of ten self contained flats.

“The proposal has been designed to be of similar scale and layout to the recent development at 74 High Street, Canvey, which the council has resolved to approve.”

The Folksville Road site is currently earmarked for retail use. Planning officers at Castle Point Council believe allocating it for residents use instead will help provide much-needed housing.

Government housing targets recommend 8,000 homes are build across the borough over the next 20 years. The council was told to go back to the drawing board after submitting a Local Plan which earmarked sites for just 2,000 homes.

A report to Castle Point Council’s planning committee reads: “The site is isolated from the nearby core retail area by reason of the busy one-way road system of the town and this is reflected in the fact that the site is currently occupied by derelict buildings and has not been used for retail purposes.

“The site is therefore not considered to contribute to the retail activity of the town centre.”

The report will be discussed by the committee during a meeting at the council officers in Kiln Road, Thundersley, next Tuesday.