Work starts today on transforming a notorious eyesore in to a £6m care home.

People living in the area are delighted that work is starting today on derelict site, that once housed Whitehaven's Sekers factory, which has been blighted by vermin and seagulls for years.

Copeland mayor Mike Starkie and councillors have welcomed the news that the long-awaited work to convert the site into a care home is beginning.

Officials have been invited to an official sod-cutting ceremony today (Monday) to mark the milestone.

The new 60-bed residential care home, which will open in 2019, will replace four older Cumbria County Council-run care homes in the county; Pow Beck, Brackenthwaite, Dentholme and Castle Mount.

It will provide modern quality care for older adults, especially those who need to be supported with dementia and complex care needs.

Mr Starkie said: "This is a prominent site in Whitehaven that has been an eyesore for far too long. It's extremely welcomed that this will soon be the
Mike Starkie home of a state-of-the-art building that provides a much-needed service for the community."

Concerns have been raised by residents over the past few years about the condition of the site, with seagulls and vermin said to be a problem.

Councillor Jeanette Forster, who represents Hensingham on Copeland Council and Whitehaven town council, is backing the new development.

She said: "It's fantastic. I think a lot of people are glad that something is being built on there."

"It's going to make such a difference to the area and lots of people's lives."

She said a housing complex and petrol station is being built nearby, so there is a lot of development happening in the same area.

"We just want the county council and borough council to take into account the roads and schools," she added, as a housing complex and petrol station is also being built nearby.

Peter Thornton, Cumbria County Council's cabinet member for health and care services, said: "This is an exciting development and the whole of
Peter Thornton Cumbria, particularly the Copeland and Allerdale area will feel the benefits of this significant investment for many years to come.

David Southward, the county council's cabinet member for property,
David Southward added: "The new care home is part of a wider modernisation programme of care in the Copeland and Allerdale area which as well as providing the home also offers people a wide range of other choices, including receiving more help to live independently in their own homes and the provision of extra care housing schemes.”

This scheme will bring other additional community benefits including the creation of apprenticeships, short-term work placements and training opportunities for local students.

The county council appointed Eric Wright Construction to work with them to develop the design for the building.

John Wilson, its managing director, said: "This unique development has been carefully designed and planned to allow older local residents to maintain their quality of life in a place that’s safe and meets individual care needs."

This will be the last of the three planned new Cumbria Care homes to open. Parkview Gardens in Barrow opened earlier this year and work on the site of the new care home in Carlisle has started and will also open in 2019.