PROPOSALS to redevelop a site formerly home to a listed pub will deliver benefits 'outweighing the loss of the heritage asset', according to planning officers.

The Manx Arms, on School Brow, close to the town centre, was demolished in May.

And plans to redevelop the site to provide one five-bed house of multiple occupancy and one four-bed house of multiple occupancy will come before the development management committee on Wednesday.

The committee is recommend to approve the application, subject to conditions.

In a statement, planning officers said the design of the building 'would enhance the character and appearance of the area'.

They added: "The proposal would deliver a sustainable form of development and the benefits would outweigh the loss of the heritage asset."

In the design and access statement, application agent JT Design Consultancy said the proposal would bring 'significant benefits', including removing an 'environmental blight' in the form of a vacant building site and the addition of 'much-needed' new housing.

It added: "The proposal is regarded as positive, seeking to address a former long-standing vacant building which had been unoccupied for over a decade and that was recently taken down for safety reasons.

"The condition of the former public house had attracted vandalism and anti-social behaviour, much to the detriment of the amenity of the adjoining properties, as well as to the perception and fear of crime on what is a busy pedestrian route to the town centre from neighbourhoods to the east, including Fairfield.

"The building has also posed a public safety risk having been attended to by the council's building control officers on more than one occasion."