A £5 millioN project for 46 flats, half of which would be affordable homes offered at prices well below market value, is being proposed for a derelict site at College Hill, Penryn.

The plan involves the demolition of the existing buildings - the former Evans Cash and Carry warehouse and a mill formerly operated by P Dawe and Sons Holdings Ltd.

The site also contains two gasometer pits. Before construction can begin, a three-month programme costing £200,000 will have to be carried out to decontaminate and remove toxic substances including cyanide and arsenic.

St Austell-based Affordable Homes of Cornwall Ltd (AHOC) have conditionally agreed to buy the one-acre site from its two present owners, subject to the granting of planning permission for the new homes.