A FORMER office block in Shildon is to be demolished and replaced with a nursing home.

The home to replace Hackworth House, in Byerley Road, will provide short-term respite care and serve as a day centre for older people with mental health problems.

Planning approval for the project was granted by Sedgefield borough councillors yesterday.

The plan was welcomed by members of the council's development control committee, who agreed that the site was an eyesore and that specialist care for the elderly was needed in the area.

Byerley ward councillor Garry Huntington, chairman of Shildon Town Council, said: "There is a need in Shildon for this kind of facility, because it has and will continue to have over the coming years an ageing population that must be carefully catered for.

"The building is looking a mess and pulling it down to make way for a new building will certainly give the area a facelift, both on the side of Hackworth Industrial Estate and residential areas off Byerley Road.

"However, there are several similar buildings in that area so I hope we can look to create a better mixture of development in the future."

Thermabuild Construction, of Ripon, will build the two-storey home, which will encompass a small courtyard.

It will accommodate 55 bedrooms, a kitchen, dining and lounge facilities, two activity rooms and associated services.

About 24 staff will be employed to run the home, and the company has said that it will encourage recruitment from the local area.

In addition to the local jobs being created, it is also hoped that the scheme will benefit the environment, because most staff are expected to travel to and from work using public transport.

Access to the site for staff, visitors and deliveries will be from the Hackworth Industrial Estate road.

An existing access on to Byerley Road, which currently serves an electricity sub-station, would be improved to accommodate refuse wagons.

The planned demolition of the existing building, built in the 1960s as offices for railway workers, has also been welcomed by local police, who say it has attracted the attention of vandals.