The next phase of the major redevelopment of Workington’s former steelworks site has been given the go-ahead.

Members of Allerdale's development panel approved details for the next 91 homes to be built on the former 31-acre Corus steelworks site as part of phase 1b of the construction.

They also approved details of a pumping station on the site and a mini roundabout to be built at the site entrance between Lakes Road and Derwent Drive.

Persimmon Homes wants to build over 650 homes and has outline planning permission for the development.

Phase one will see 316 homes built. Proposals for the first 225 homes were approved by Allerdale council last year.

Plans would see a mixture of two, three and four bedroom homes with types including detached, semidetached, terraced houses and flats.

Phil Daily, general manager of ACP Concrete which is based on Lakes Road near the Corus redevelopment, told councillors his business, the Persimmon development and the new KFC restaurant led him to believe traffic lights would be more suitable than a mini roundabout.

He added: "At peak times you're going to be looking at huge volumes of traffic."

But Steve Long, the council's principal planning officer, said the planning permission already required traffic lights to be provided once 300 homes had been built on the site, with the mini roundabout to be put in place after 40.

And Abigail Kos, graduate planner at Persimmon, said the mini roundabout had been recommended by the county council.

She added: "This development of the former Corus site is in line with the council's planning policy."

Plans to develop the site, which closed in 2007, were first lodged nine years ago by Eatonfield Developments Limited. But the firm went into liquidation in 2011 and Persimmon took over the outline plans.