Developments at a former brewery and pub are continuing to move forward, with tenants taking occupancy and commercial plans afoot for the site.

A £4.4m housing development on the site of the derelict Beaufort Arms pub, off Station Road in Royal Wootton Bassett, is complete and ready for tenants.

The Beaufort Brewery, situated at the north end of the Drayman’s Court development, has finally seen contractors begin work, attracting positive reviews on social networks.

No official announcement has yet been made on which direction development at the former brewery will take, though Paul Vitti Residential, an estate agent in the town, is set to sell any accommodation on the plot.

A comment on a photo posted on the Royal Wootton Bassett Facebook page suggests there will be one town house, three apartments, a Waitrose store and a Costa Coffee outlet built on the brewery site.

Meanwhile, the 27 homes built over the road have been widely welcomed, chiefly as affordable options in a town where demand has been high for many years.

One of the first residents to receive the keys to their new home was Shirley Rollinson, who moved into a property with her husband Gary and their son, Nicholas.

Mrs Rollinson said: “We were on the housing list for about 18 months waiting for a suitable property to come up. We previously lived in Market Lavington and my husband works in Swindon, so Royal Wootton Bassett is ideal for him. We were absolutely thrilled when we found out we’d been chosen for one of the new homes here.”

Developers Aster Homes worked with Wiltshire Council, house builder Taylor Wimpey, site agent Tremain Powell Partnership and the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) to deliver the project.

The HCA invested more than £430,000 in the scheme, which includes a mixture of two and three-bedroom properties.

Nineteen of the plots are up for rent, and managed by Aster Communities, while the remaining eight are provided under shared ownership.

Anna Kear, regional development director for Aster Homes, said: “This week is Yes to Homes Week, which the National Housing Federation is running to highlight and address the current housing shortage in Britain.

“It’s a timely reminder that, like much of Wiltshire, Royal Wootton Bassett needs high-quality new affordable housing and Drayman’s Court will help provide exactly that.”