A steelworks which shut down more than four years ago is to reopen under new owners, it's been revealed.

Liberty House, which operates another steel mill in Newport, south Wales, is now aiming to re-start the manufacture of rod and bar mills at Sheerness.

It follows the closure of Thamesteel in Brielle Way in Sheerness four years ago, with the loss of 350 jobs.

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The group acquired the assets in January of this year, and has agreed a new long-term lease with Peel Ports, which owns the land.

It now aims to restart production there by mid-2017.

However, Paul Barker, the Port Director at Peel Ports, said the deal had not been signed.

He said: “Liberty has been investigating a number of options and has made an approach to us but nothing has been agreed.”

He added: “This does not fundamentally change our plans for the site. We are looking for the best option.”

The news came the day after Peel Ports won planning permission from Swale council to redevelop the 53-acre site at Brielle Way, Blue Town.

It will involve demolishing some buildings and creating a 32-acre car park for imported vehicles.

Mr Barker said: “We are massively appreciative of Swale council for unanimously approving our plans. We are over the moon.

"It means that we can now make fundamental improvements to the site to add value and to start generating jobs. It can look forward to a more-than-rosie future.”

He added: “Liberty is one of a number of parties we are talking to. Our view for the site has not changed. We have always seen it as a mixed development.

"We have a range of ongoing options but would prefer to work with our existing cargo base such as grain, cars and steel.”

The Sheerness rod and bar mills can produce up to 750,000 tonnes a year, taking Liberty's UK steel rolling capacity to 2.5m tonnes per annum.

VB Garg, chief executive of Liberty Steel Newport said: "We are particularly excited about the prospect of restarting the Sheerness rolling mills which were closed by the previous owner four years ago.

"Although we originally thought we would move the mills elsewhere, we now believe it will be better to reopen the existing site as it will save time and cost and allow us to take advantage of emerging opportunities in the market."

He added that the company would be recruiting an initial workforce of 60 people, rising to 100 as market conditions allowed.