THE site of the former Gwent County Council offices will become a housing development after a £2.9 million deal was agreed.

Torfaen and Monmouthshire councils shared ownership of the County Hall site in Cwmbran before relocating to new sites.

With repair work estimated at around £30 million, the office building was closed and subsequently demolished in 2013.

Last year, a joint bid by a developer and a local housing association was accepted by the councils after two previous attempts to sell the site fell through.

It had originally gone on the market for more than £5 million in 2015.

Torfaen council had already agreed to sell their share on a “subject to contract” basis leaving Monmouthshire to fulfil their end of the deal.

Cabinet met on Wednesday to accept the offer, with council leader Peter Fox admitting: “I’m glad to see this finally before us. [The process] has been a real eye opener.”

The councils will each receive £1.45 million in capital receipts for the deal, but Cllr Fox said that the net gain was “quite minimal” when set against the demolition costs.

Monmouthshire’s estates manager Ben Winstanley told cabinet that 143 homes would be built on the site.

Last month he had informed a council scrutiny committee that the council would ensure that 30 per cent of the units would be affordable housing.

A cabinet report revealed that the council had to renegotiate the deal on several occasions, with issues with the developer’s drainage strategy adding “abnormal costs”.

Such costs had been discounted in a final offer which was found to be below the councils’ asking price.

“Further negotiations were undertaken with the preferred bidder to bring the land value in line with council expectations and as a result the offer has been revised to a level that both councils can agree,” the report adds.

Monmouthshire council has said that it will direct the funds into its 21st Century Schools funding programme.