BOSSES at a property development firm are on the verge of signing an agreement allowing them to demolish a disused rubber factory and build dozens of homes for the elderly there instead. McCarthy & Stone's application to build 33 one-bedroomed and 12 two-

BOSSES at a property development firm are on the verge of signing an agreement allowing them to demolish a disused rubber factory and build dozens of homes for the elderly there instead.McCarthy & Stone's application to build 33 one-bedroomed and 12 two-bedroomed apartments on the Fussells site in Station Road, Worle, has been approved by council officers subject to sorting out some legal conditions.If an agreement is signed, work could start on the development within a few months.A McCarthy & Stone spokesman said: "We are expecting to finalise the agreement any day."As soon as consent is given demolition will start and then we hope to start construction after that."This is likely to be within three to four months and is likely to take about a year to complete."Originally an application for 58 homes for the elderly on the former Fussells' site was refused at North Somerset Council's west area committee and McCarthy & Stone appealed. This means a full planning inquiry was due to be held where an independent planning inspector would decide if the application should be approved.But the company also resubmitted a new planning application which included more affordable homes and one more car parking space. A total of 13 affordable homes were included in the latest plans.A council spokesman said: "The latest plans have been approved subject to legal conditions and if the agreement is signed then hopefully the planning inquiry will not be needed."Previously, councillors had raised concerns over a lack of community facilities, like a library, in the plans and letters of objection had been sent to North Somerset Council outlining opposition to diverting a cycle route through Oakdale Gardens.But McCarthy & Stone says it is "confident all the design issues have been addressed, including the provision of an existing cyclepath, more car parking spaces, and an increase in the number of affordable units."The former rubber factory has become renowned as a magnet for youths who have been starting fires and causing vandalism at the site since its closure in September 2005.