FAMILIES are backing plans to bulldoze scores of empty homes on a rundown housing estate.

Up to 177 houses on Middlesbrough's Whinney Banks estate could be demolished under a £20m plan to transform the area.

An estimated 86 per cent of residents responded to an independent survey, and almost nine out of ten backed the idea of demolishing empty houses.

Seventy-three per cent voted to stay where they were if improvements went ahead on their homes and the estate.

About £12m of the £20m would be used to improve houses and the environment on the 658-home estate.

The rest of the cash would be spent on developing a range of projects, including healthier lifestyle initiatives and new leisure facilities.

Other ideas for a regenerated estate include a small food store, a sheltered housing scheme, improved facilities for pedestrians and cyclists, and a sick pets dispensary.

John Hutchinson, project coordinator for Whinney Banks, said: "The most important thing to say at this stage is that nothing has been decided.

"We've carried out the survey to make sure we get the views of everyone living in central Whinney Banks, and we're delighted that so many people have told us what they think of the proposals for change.''

Residents will be invited to sit on a steering group to see the scheme through.

Mr Hutchinson said: "As well as the survey results, the steering group will take into account the number of empty properties on the estate, the number of people who have asked for a transfer to a new property, and the cost of the possible options, before developing a blueprint for the redevelopment of central Whinney Banks."

Builders will be invited to submit expressions of interest in the summer, and the developers will be expected to work closely with the steering group.

Neighbourhood delegates have been briefed on the results of the survey. There will be a series of public meetings, starting on Monday.

The regeneration of Whinney Banks is central to a £52m revamp of west Middlesbrough, phased over ten years, under Labour's New Deal for Communities programme.