A DISUSED Victorian country house on the edge of Taunton could be converted into flats.

Ruishton Court, off the A358 next to the Gateway Park and Ride site, has been used as office accommodation in recent years and before that was a nursing home for elderly residents.

Efforts to sell it over the past decade have been unsuccessful and proposals have now been made to turn the listed property into nine flats.

Owners Tithegrove Ltd have applied to Somerset West and Taunton Council for change of use planning permission for the property, which was built in 1893.

The company, which had been based in the main building, has since relocated its main office.

The main Grade II listed building is up to three-storeys high and is next to a single-storey former stables, while there are a number of single storey residential buildings on the site.

The applicants claim the property is now "surplus to requirements for commercial purposes".

The site is near to the planned Nexus 25 business park, which is set to provide 3,000 jobs once complete.