AN AMBITIOUS plan to modernise an eyesore industrial area would be the final piece in the jigsaw of the multi-million-pound Millennium Commission Gosport waterfront scheme.

The former Watercraft site opposite St George's Barracks is in need of rebuilding and the current occupier Umo Schat is choosing a developer.

The site fronts Portsmouth Har-bour and lies next to the derelict Royal Navy docks at Port Clarence Yard, which is to be transformed into a housing and leisure complex and a base for ocean racing yachts.

Initial plans for the Watercraft site include housing, shops, retail warehouses and, primarily, factories and offices.

Gosport councillor Mark Hook, transport and development committee chairman, welcomed the plan: "The site has been in need of a modernisation for many years. It's a bit of an eyesore because of the empty units and doesn't do Gosport any credit.

"If it goes through, this plan would be the final piece in the huge redevelopment of the waterfront, along with Port Clarence Yard and Priddy's Hard.

"The primary aim of the Watercraft site scheme is to create jobs. There are plenty of houses in the other waterfront schemes, but people have to have somewhere to live and we encourage people not to travel to work but to work in Gosport.

"This will regenerate the area and attract new investors and employers, so we hope it will bring new jobs and economically balance the leisure side of the area as it develops.''