A CONTROVERSIAL building site hit by the credit crunch and condemned as an embarrassment could have a new lease of life this summer in a £3.7 million project.

Fairlake Properties are planning to build 33 affordable retirement apartments on a Caldicot plot vacated by developer McCarthy and Stone last year.

The land at Newport Road was originally pegged for sheltered housing, but the original developer mothballed the project after the credit crunch took hold.

As a result, the site remained derelict for more than two years.

Neil Barber, assistant director at Fairlake, said they are hoping to start work on the flats in July.

The apartments, which will be available to rent or to buy an equity stake in for people aged over 55, will be built to high sustainability standards, with solar panels pre-fitted to the property.

The complex should be complete by summer 2011.

McCarthy and Stone’s original plans generated opposition when the developer applied for permission to demolish a building known locally as Francesca’s.

Caldicot mayor Councillor David Evans, who said the site has since become an embarrassment, welcomed the news.

"That’s the first focus point that you see when you come into Caldicot," he said.

"A beautiful building was demolished to make way for the original complex, and all this time we’ve been waiting for something to happen. Residents in the area will welcome it."

Cllr Evans said children have also managed to access the site by breaking through gaps in the hoardings.

Mr Barber said staff have been made aware of the problem and work was done to secure the plot earlier in the week.