ONE of Wearside's notorious eyesores could be transformed into a 350-house estate.

English Partnerships has applied to turn the derelict Lambton Cokeworks site near Shiney Row into a housing estate with its own pub.

It has pledged to start reclamation works to remove pollution from the site in October.

But residents whose homes back on to the site say it should be left untouched or converted into a country park.

The cokeworks closed in 1984 and the ground is highly polluted with toxic residues.

Work has been carried out to clean the site, which revealed a 19th Century wooden railway under the soil.

English Partnerships is a national regeneration agency, and has put in the application for houses to Sunderland City Council, together with a pub and link road to Blind Lane.

A spokeswoman said: "It is just an outline application and will not start for another two years, as reclamation work is still to start.

"We're now hoping to appoint a contractor in July to work with us to determine what will be the best method of reclamation.

"That work should start in October and last for two years."

The design of the houses will be determined when work finishes.

Government money to help with the reclamation scheme is coming from a package to build the Central Route, which will cross the site as part of a road link between Shiney Row and Hetton.