A SIX acre site previously used by a clothes factory is to be put on the market in Newport for housing.

Newport council says it intends to sell the former Compton Webb site south of Glan Usk School at St Julians.

The authority says the sale of the site is part of the originally finance agreement to build the school, which opened in 2010.

A St Julians councillor told the Argus the authority had originally intended to sell the land as part of the deal to build the site, but the previous developer had pulled out.

A spokeswoman for the council said the land related to the southern area of the site which she described as the Glebelands, where a clothes factory called Compton Webb used to be.

Ed Townsend, Newport council’s only Lib Dem councillor and former deputy leader, said the authority had wanted to sell the Compton Webb site for housing to raise £2million for the private finance initiative that was funding the building project.

But the developer, Charles Church, pulled out. Cllr Townsend said it was thought 230 homescould bebuilt at the site.

“It’s very good news, it means the council will recoup the £2million that it was forced to spend on completing the PFI scheme,” he said.

The school project itself was hit with controversy with specialists having to carry out remedial work to the site, which was formerly a waste tip.

A 600mm layer of capping material was installed between the old ground and the new school to ensure users of the site were safe. A council spokeswoman said the factory site itself is not contaminated – although the ground level would need to be raised because of flood issues.