A CAR dealership in Westcliff will be knocked down and transformed into six homes after plans were approved by Southend Council.

Plans show that Southend Trading Centre, on London Road, opposite Nazareth House, is deemed "no longer viable as a shop or office" and would be better suited as homes.

The dealership will be changed into three flats and the rear buildings on the site will be demolished and transformed into three bungalows.

Architects, RD Architecture, have previously explored plans to transform the site into a car wash, though these have been abandoned in favour of transforming the small dealership into new homes.

While the plans have been granted planning permission, Southend’s planning officers noted that comments from consultation with neighbours resulted in concern relating to privacy and the new site’s proximity to neighbours.

Labour Milton councillor, Maxine Sadza, said that she is happy to see more housing along London Road.

She said: “We need more housing and good quality housing too; it will be positive for London Road.

“The road does have a real mixture of things to offer and when people work long hours, they can enjoy having shops they can pop into, such as charity shops along the road, which are better for the planet, it is good to have a mixture of retail and housing.

“I wish the best to the owners of the Trading Centre though; we like to work with and help those with small and medium-sized businesses.”

Maxine added that the creation of bungalows is ideal for creating a mixture of housing inside Milton ward as well.

She said: “We need this kind of housing, we often have HMOs and flats for single people, we need a mixture of property types, for people who are downsizing and for first-time buyers as well or those who want to buy to let.

“It is a good opportunity, and we need more families moving into the area.”

According to the application, transforming the business into a shop or office would cost between ‘£100,000 and £150,000’ and take between nine and 12 months.