IT'S stood derelict and boarded up for years but the firm behind some old student residences in Carlisle says it hopes to announced plans for the site soon.

Impact Housing, which owns the Old Brewery Residences - a stone's throw from Carlisle Castle - had plans to turn the building into 40 homes.

In 2016 the firm said the former student flats - which comprises five buildings - would be used to provide "affordable" properties.

This would have included 23 two-bedroom flats, 10 two-bedroom maisonettes, three single bed flats and one three-bedroom flat.

But three years on, and nothing has happened with the site - which is passed by hundreds of drivers each day.

Lisa Ford, governance and legal manager for Impact Housing, said: "When Impact Housing Association joined the Riverside Group in August 2018 Riverside committed to reviewing the feasibility of the Brewery site.

"A range of options have been explored over the recent months and we hope to be able to confirm the outcome soon, at which point we will announce our plans."

The site, which used to be a youth hostel in the summer, now stands with steel shutters over its windows and doors.

A decision to close the original halls of residence - on the site of the former Theakston's Brewery - was made following a fall in student numbers.

The student rooms at the Old Brewery were not equipped with ensuite bathrooms and it is thought that this, along with the falling numbers, contributed to students opting to live elsewhere.

At its peak 198 students lived at the site - most of them were from the former University of Northumbria when it had a campus in Carlisle.

This had reduced to 40 in 2016.