office and shopping complex which will be built at a key gateway to Hamilton.

Construction of the centre on the 14,000 square-foot site next to Dismont Robinson General Store on Front Street is expected to start early in the new year.

Access to Seon Place's 85,600 square feet of floor space will be from both Front Street and Spurling Hill, and the complex will also have it's own underground parking facilities.

Architects for the developers are Hamilton-based Barker & Linberg.

One of the conditions attached to the Board's approval is the addition of a pedestrian footpath on Seon Lane. The narrow, one-way street must also be widened before the building opens for business.

Another requirement set by the DAB is extensive landscaping of the property.

Any trees or shrubs which are removed, damaged or destroyed in the building's construction must replaced by plants of similar size and species.

The property was at the centre of controversy about 10 years ago when a picturesque two-storey wooden building on the site was demolished.

It's destruction was seen as a setback in the preservation of buildings with architectural importance. The National Trust was among the protesters.

The Board also granted permission for the construction of two new classrooms at St. George's Preparatory School.

A spokesman for the school said a computer room was needed for their "write to read'' programme, which has been held in a front hallway due to a lack of space.

Construction is set to begin this week.