PROPOSALS are being put forward to develop the land on the former Energy Centre on Piper’s Way.

Developer McCarthy & Stone will give local residents the chance to view and comment on the plans for 65 one- and two-bedroom retirement apartments, car parking, landscaped gardens, and a shop.

The plans for the former Energy Centre, next to Nationwide’s administration centre in Wakefield House, are at the preliminary stage for now, and no planning application has been submitted.

Regional managing director at McCarthy & Stone Shane Paull said: “Our plans provide an important opportunity to deliver a sensitive development of much-needed specialist retirement accommodation on brownfield land.

“The proposed apartments would be in an attractive and highly-sustainable location, very close to transport links and local shops and services in the town centre.”

A planning application in 2015 to demolish the energy centre and build a mixed-use development on the same site with regular apartments and housing was given the go-ahead but was never built.

The retirement apartments will have care and support available on-site 24 hours and will create 15 to 20 full-time posts, according to the company.

Mr Paull added: “We want to hear from the local community and our future homeowners before we finalise our planning application.

“We will be displaying our plans at a public exhibition where our project team will be on hand to answer questions and listen to feedback on what we have done so far.”

The developer says the proposal will offer an important opportunity to provide "much-needed specialist retirement accommodation, increasing the housing choice for local older people".

The Office of National Statistics has predicted that the local over-65s population could rise by up to 72 per cent over the next 20 years.

The public consultation is being held at Christ Church, Cricklade Street, between 3pm 7pm on Tuesday.

Staff from McCarthy & Stone will be there to answer questions local residents wish to raise.

More information about the scheme can be found on the company’s website or through a freephone information line 08002987040.