HOUSING could finally be built on a derelict part of a Hampshire town as civic chiefs secure vital funding.

Test Valley Borough Council has come under mounting pressure from locals and community leaders alike to deal with the brownfield site – dubbed the eyesore of Romsey – which has been left empty since 1988.

It has been urged to make owners Stanborough Developments, which promised to develop the site after buying it, commence the construction of 211 homes that it was given permission to put up in 2006. The council says it has been in regular contact with the developer which has made slow progress with plans.

Now councillors say they will use the £14,000 to bring in consultants to find a way to “encourage” the developers to build the already-approved homes.

Planning head Cllr Nick Adams-King said: “The brewery site has obviously been an issue for everyone for quite some time, but no one has been able to come up with an solution to it.

“This is therefore great news as it means the council can seek specialist advice about what we can do to help bring this forward.

“[If a solution could be found] it would be fantastic. At the moment there is planning permission for more than 200 homes that we cannot add to our annual target – set by the government – of 588.

"As a consequence we are having to look at sites elsewhere when there is a perfectly good one just sitting in the town centre, doing nothing.”

Romsey MP Caroline Nokes added: “It is very encouraging to hear progress may finally be made in developing the site.”

The funding has come from the Local Government Association’s (LGA) Housing Advisers programme.

The Daily Echo was unable to reach Stanborough Developments for comment.