The green light has been given for a housing development on the Bridge Fuels filling station site and the derelict listed homes next to it in Marlborough.

Owner of the London Road business, architecture graduate Alex Dean, was given the news that his plans to build seven houses had been given the go-ahead by Wiltshire Council last Thursday.

He also plans to restore the terrace of dilapidated 18th-century cottages, to create three homes.

Mr Dean said: “I’m quite excited. I’ve been working my way down the list, to let everybody know that it’s been granted full planning permission, and everybody has been really supportive.

“The response has been really positive. People are happy that work is finally going to get started.

“It’s taken two-and-a-half years of work to get to this point and it’s been a lot of hard work and effort.”

The site will now be developed in two phases. First, the listed buildings will be stripped out and renovated and the Antiques Emporium will be demolished, to make way for a new house.

When this phase is completed, building will start on six houses to replace the garage.

Mr Dean anticipates that the whole development will be completed within three years.

He said: “There is still a long way to go and a lot of work to do, but we want to start the building work as soon as possible.

“Hopefully, the demolition work will start in late summer and will be finished by the end of the year.

“The petrol station will still be here for a few years, because we’re not going to start work on that area until everything else is completed.”

Mr Dean took over ownership of the filling station from his father, Zubair, who now lives in Thailand.