A FORMER care home is set to be bulldozed and replaced with new homes under a land swap deal hammered out by civic chiefs.

The old Stocklands complex in Calmore Drive, Totton, will be sold to New Forest District Council, which has launched a drive to increase the amount of affordable housing in the area.

In return, the former Cranleigh Paddock dementia unit in Calpe Avenue, Lyndhurst will be purchased by Hampshire County Council.

The land exchange was approved by the district council’s ruling cabinet, which heard that 20 homes could be built on the Stocklands site.

A report said: “It is proposed that unconditional contracts for the simultaneous sale and purchase of the sites be exchanged as soon as possible, with completion taking place in late summer or early autumn.”

But Cllr David Harrison, leader of the Liberal Democrat opposition group, claimed the deal had taken too long to achieve.

He said: “Stocklands has been empty for about ten years. It's remarkable we’re trumpeting this as an achievement. It should have been done much sooner, especially as there are more than 5,000 people on the housing waiting list. It’s ten years too late.”

But Cllr Jill Cleary, cabinet member for housing, said: “When we first approached the county council (about Stocklands) they thought they might re-use it.

“I know how desperate we are for housing – and this is a damn good report.”

Plans to close Stocklands, which included a day centre, were approved in 2006 after it emerged the building needed repairs costing £1.5 million.

The county council-run home had 42 residents over the age of 65, many with dementia, but the authority ruled the 1970s building was no longer fit for purpose.

At the time Cllr Patricia Banks, who was executive member for adult care, said: “The wellbeing and safety of all vulnerable people in our care is paramount.

“We need to ensure that the high levels of care are matched by appropriate settings which meet all the current requirements.”

Cranleigh Paddock, which comprises 16 bed-sits and two flats, has been used to house people over the age of 55.

More recently the site has provided temporary housing for homeless people who would otherwise have had to go into bed and breakfast accommodation.

The report to Cabinet members said the current occupants would be found somewhere else to live.