GRIMY industrial buildings that have been a blot on one of the region's most picturesque landscapes for more than four decades are about to be pulled down.

Since French company Lafarge closed its cement works at Eastgate, in Weardale, County Durham, two years ago, people living and working in the dale have called for the plant to be demolished.

The loss of the works - the Dale's main employer - and 147 jobs rocked the community in August 2002. But now residents and business people want the dusty kilns and towering grey chimney to be pulled down.

Now the company has made the first step towards demolition.

Lafarge Cement UK has applied to Wear Valley District Council for planning permission to use the works' former social club building as a base from which to manage the demolition programme.

It is also finalising a tender document for the job to go out to specialist industrial demolition companies.

Works manager Peter Greeno said the final phases of decommissioning the buildings and other work necessary before demolition were well under way.

However, a a timetable for demolition could not be confirmed until a contractor had been appointed, he said.

Durham County Councillor for Weardale John Shuttleworth, said: "The ideal situation would have been for the works stay open.

"But since the place shut, people have longed to see it pulled down and returned to a green site or for a new business to move in and create employment.

"It will be good to get it down because now it is no good to the area it is just an eyesore. I only hope Lafarge gets the demolition done as quickly as possible."