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Proposals to demolish Derby's Britannia House at a cost of £130,000 have been given the go-ahead by councillors.

Derby City Council's planning committee has agreed to knock down the development, which has lain vacant since 2007, after it rejected two possible bids for the site.

It was reported earlier this year that the council would consider demolishing the site after a proposed redevelopment of the site was deemed too costly.

Following a cabinet meeting last week, it was agreed that the building would be torn down at an estimated cost of £130,000, steeper than original costings of between £60,000 and £100,000.

Britannia House, which was a Derby Homes-managed scheme which comprises 64 flat and bedsits, was decommissioned in 2007 and has since remained vacant.

Two years prior to that, the council had resolved to sell the site for re-development on the open market, with the requirement that the building must be demolished.

After failing to secure a sale, the council and its arms length management organisation Derby Homes developed options for the building to be re-modelled in 2008. Through a report, the council said it was not possible to create "a financially viable" scheme.

Councillors have now agreed to tear down the site which it describes as "a blight on the area" and explore alternative uses for it.

In the last year, the council received two further bids for Britannia Court, but they "did not deliver the level of receipt combined with the high standards of design that is sought" and suggested that planning permission for either would not be granted by the Environment Agency.

The estimated cost of demolishing the building is set at £130,000 which the council said will be met by its Housing Revenue Account.

Council officers will now bring back a subsequent report to cabinet on possible uses for the site.