Bulldozers can move in to demolish the Ensors abattoir after planners gave the green light to a £20 million new housing estate on the site.

Next March, builders from Kier Homes will start transforming the site into an attractive 92 home estate overlooking Linear Park.

The new estate ranges from one-bed flats to four-bed detached homes and will have parking for 184 cars.

There will be 37 affordable homes by Two Rivers and 55 sold on the open market by Kier.

Developers will also stump up £37,240 to improve the junction with St Whites Road and contribute £18,032 towards Cinderford Library, £136,296 towards recreation facilities, £25,000 towards play areas and £62,302 for drainage management.

Architects told planners they changed their original ideas substantially after talking to local people who wanted to see a public open space bringing together two halves of the site.

Cinderford's Labour leader Coun Di Martin described the application as brilliant and said: "This is a very exciting application and the collaboration with the local community makes it special.

"Part of the site is an abattoir that been a problem for residents in that part of Cinderford for many years. It is the end of a long haul to move the abattoir to a proper site on the industrial estate. This will make the lower half of Cinderford a beautiful place to live."

She said the code four homes would set an example for houses in the rest of the regeneration area and that the affordable homes are much needed.

After years of complaints by neighbours, Two Rivers started talking to Robert Ensor about moving his meat factory so they could merge the land with their site next door in 2009.

But they could not fund the scheme until the Forest of Dean District Council and the Homes and Communities Agency came on board.

The HCA stumped up £1,9 million to buy the Ensors site and move the company to a state-of- the-art meat processing plant on the Forest Vale industrial estate.

Two Rivers invested £3 million into the scheme which should be ready by March 2016 and development director Matt Hunt said: "This massive injection of investment into the area will be a real shot in the arm for the local economy.

"It will boost the availability of affordable homes in the area, helping to tackle the growing waiting list."

Cinderford Regeneration Board Chairman Councillor Graham Morgan has said: "I look forward to seeing the new homes taking shape early next year."

Chris King, managing director of Kier Partnership Homes, said: "The design and specification of the new homes is to a very high standard and I'm sure everyone will be delighted with the finished product."