HUNDREDS of homes in a problem-plagued community could be demolished under a council blueprint announced yesterday.

Officials from Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council said they were committed to rebuilding a better community in old South Bank, near Middlesbrough.

The South Bank Renewal Plan, which includes residents' views and concerns, aims to tackle the housing market collapse and clear out areas of older terraced housing.

The council's cabinet is set to agree 12 recommendations when it meets today.

The recommendations include talking to residents living among the empty properties and organising financial relocation packages.

The first phase of the scheme is expected to cost about £9m.

The council's cabinet member for housing and neighbourhood renewal, Councillor Chris Abbott, said: "We are not just knocking down houses - we are building a better community, one that will be sustainable and for the long term.

"We have listened to the community. We know there is backing and we also accept many want to see the newer housing left alone.

"These plans reflect that and they will help people who live in the worst-affected streets get the kind of modern homes they deserve for 21st Century living."

Chairman of the South Bank Housing Strategy Steering Group, South Bank ward councillor Ian Jeffrey, said: "This plan will not only address the immediate problem, but also hopefully be a step towards the creation of a community which has long-term stability and will be attractive to future generations of residents."

The proposals have not gone down well with everybody, especially people who have lived in the area for a long time.

Audrey Rutter, 86, has lived in Warrick Street for 25 years.

She said: "I am really sad about it. There is a good community round here. I don't really want to move out the area - they are taking my life away from me and sending me to a community I don't know. I can't make sense of it."

Ivy Rowden, 68, who has lived in her home for 50 years, said: "We have never ever moved and we know all the people here - that is what worries me about moving."