AN eyesore Brierley Hill waste site that has overshadowed the area and blighted residents' homes could be transformed into a swanky new housing complex.

Plans seeking outline permission to build nearly 100 new homes on the former Refuse Derived Fuel site in Moor Street have been submited to Dudley Council.

A blot on the landscape for the last few years, the site made international headlines when a huge pile of household waste awaiting landfill crept up to a 40-foot mountain of rubbish in 2012.

After a series of court hearings the giant rubbish pile started to come down but not in time to prevent RDF boss Robert McNaughton being hit with a six-month jail term in December 2013 for failing to clear the site within agreed timescales.

Now derelict - the site, owned by Warwickshire-based J and V Kelly Ltd, has now been earmarked for a five-storey complex of 94 one and two-bedroom properties.

Stratford-based Marson Rathbone Taylor architects have drawn up plans for the new housing scheme which aims to put "high quality new housing on an obsolete waste site, enhancing the green spaces and infrastructure and improving the attractiveness of the area" according to a design and access statement on Dudley's planning website.

The report says the development would look to emulate the style and character of buildings in the town centre "but integrate a modern architectural look".

It adds: "The appalling site has become a huge problem and needs to be removed, the Environmental Agency is now involved.

"Our company, Marson Rathbone Taylor Architects LLP, aim to design a building that will replenish the area, link with the local surrounding buildings and landscape and become visually pleasing for local people; creating architectural significance in Brierley Hill and more homes for people."

Architect Jake Smart, of Marson Rathbone Taylor, added: "The cost of clearing up the site is significant - the application for planning permission for residential use is the only economically viable way of getting the site cleared up."

Ward councillor Rachel Harris welcomed the plan and added: "We need to do something about the site."

The Environment Agency said around 14,000 cubic metres of waste remains on the site which will likely cost around £750,000 to remove.

Legal action, however, continues to try and ensure RDF Ltd and director Mr McNaughton clear the remaining rubbish.

A High Court writ was recently obtained to seize assets from the firm and its boss and a spokesman for the EA added: "Following the order and visits to Mr McNaughton, bailiffs are actively pursuing him and the company and are currently reviewing what assets can be seized. It’s possible there will be further court hearings."