CIVIC chiefs are set to approve plans to turn a former police station into an 80-bedroom care home.

Eastleigh Police Station shut earlier this year with the building deemed outdated and no longer fit for purpose.

However the site on Leigh Road is now likely to become an 80-bedroom care home which will create 80 new jobs for the town.

Discussions to permit or reject the plans will take place when the Eastleigh Local Area Committee (ELAC) meets next Monday.

The meeting will run from 7pm in Eastleigh House on Upper Market Street, Eastleigh.

The planning application was submitted to Eastleigh Borough Council (EBC) in April.

Hamberley Development has confirmed it will be responsible for the scheme which will see the former police station turned into care apartments and community facilities such as a cafe.

According to the company, the care home would be built at the back of the former police station along with nine residential apartments.

The firm has said that the final drawings have not been decided yet.

One Eastleigh resident said: "I object to the height and closeness of the nine apartment blocks next to my property. The proposed buildings would make for a very bleak outlook from my property. This proposal is way too high and close to residential properties both here and in Romsey close. Buildings of these proportions should be further away on a site large enough that could accommodate them easily."

Another added: "Existing commuter traffic, is already at maximum capacity. Increased vehicular access, to and from the proposed development, will increase congestion and pollution, on the adjoining roads."

Despite objections from locals Eastleigh Local Area Committee has received recommendations to permit the development in a recent planning report.

The report states the development will bring an important town centre site back into productive use and provide long-term protection for an important listed building.

It also states it will provide jobs, support the local economy, provide new homes in a sustainable location, and addressing an increasing need for specialist "older persons" accommodation.