WORK is due to start building nine new townhouses on a site in Yate once earmarked for offices.

The three-storey, four bedroom homes will be built on an abandoned site in Broad Lane.

The land, near The Fox pub and Brimsham Green School, has not been used for a number of years and had been expected to become home to new offices.

Gary Sheppard, chief executive of Helm Construction which is behind the development, said: “This site was once earmarked for an office development but has since been overtaken by this ambitious scheme which will provide much needed new housing for the Yate area.

“Yate has established itself as a popular town in its own right and development sites are few and far between.”

The houses and their associated garages will back on to Goose Green Way.

Helm Construction is active on half a dozen sites across South Gloucestershire and specialises in regenerating redundant brownfield sites or re-developing unwanted garden or parking areas.

“Having an abandoned, overgrown site in your neighbourhood brings a multitude of problems and residents are often very relieved when the uncertainty of having a derelict site on their doorstep is lifted with the arrival of smart - and much needed - new homes,” added Mr Sheppard.