A FACTORY building could be knocked down to make way for a new housing development as initial plans were given the go ahead.

Up to 108 homes can be built at the 2.6-hectare Andrew Textile Industries site as outline permission is now in place.

The red brick single-storey building, located on the eastern half of the Walshaw Road site, was in use until March of this year.

Councillors on the planning committee agreed that, in principle, the industrial site can be used for housing but details on appearance, landscape and layout are yet to be revealed.

Harry Spawton of property consultants Gerald Eve spoke about the plans at a town hall meeting on Tuesday evening.

He said: “This proposal will bring a vacant, brownfield site, in a sustainable location back into active use. The proposed new housing will help the council to meet its five-year housing supply, thus reducing the pressure on greenfield sites.”

Community consultation, involving 1,603 local properties, businesses and schools took place before the meeting.

A total of 10 letters from residents were received, raising issues about overdevelopment of the area, loss of natural wildlife and traffic.

One objector, Mark Aspinall, spoke at the meeting, voicing his concerns about specific details of the proposed housing development.

Planning committee chairman Gavin McGill said these details would be addressed in the next stage of the proposal.

Andrew Industries Ltd submitted the plans but could sell the site to a developer with planning permission in place.

Developers building on brownfield sites benefit from a government incentive to encourage housing in existing built up areas. This means that they can offset their affordable houses obligations.

The planning committee unanimously approved the outline planning application.

A reserved matters application with further details, which is set to follow, must be approved within three years before the outline permission expires.