A FORMER council office has been reduced to rubble prior to the site being redeveloped as retirement homes.

Test Valley Borough Council’s old offices in Duttons Road, Romsey have been bulldozed by Renaissance Retirement who will soon start work on 52 apartments for senior citizens.

The building was opened in the 1930s and extended in the 1960s.

The council sold the site in 2012 for an undisclosed sum as part of a package of money-saving measures.

TVBC moved staff to their Beech Hurst office in Andover and the Former Magistrates Court in Church Street, which the authority shares with Hampshire County Council, Test Valley Community Services and the CAB.

The new block, to be called Fleur de Lis Romsey, will be made up of one and two-bedroom bedroom apartments, an owners' lounge and a guest suite.

The firm say they hope to complete construction by August, 2016 ahead of a grand opening a month later.

Nick Watkins, development director at Renaissance, added: “This is a very exciting development in a stand out position. There are a number of retirement developments being built at the moment just outside the town, but with our prime location, in the heart of Romsey, it’s no wonder we have received considerable interest from potential buyers already.”