NEW owners, Fullers, are about to put the former Gales Brewery in Horndean on the market as a development site.

"Over the next two months, our agents will be looking for potential developers to come forward with commercial proposals for this major industrial site and a purchaser will be selected in late summer," said Fullers spokesman Nigel Atkinson.

He confirmed that the brewers were themselves looking at potential sites with the intention of continuing with a distribution operation in the area.

East Hampshire District Council has approved a set of development principles following consultations with residents, identifying some of the issues raised by the closure of the old brewery and the opportunities which it could create for the future of the village.

"The redevelopment of parts of this complex site provides a means to revitalise and regenerate Horndean village centre and our consultations have been invaluable in focusing minds on what people would really like to see," said the council's chief executive, Will Godfrey.

He said an initial application for redevelopment was expected by the end of 2007, with a decision on the future of the brewery site likely by the summer of 2008.