A CRUMBLING, 250-year-old house near Bradford Cathedral is being converted into temporary accommodation for homeless families.

The Grade II listed Clergy House on Barkerend Road has lain empty since 2003, and has suffered from squatters and vandalism.

Now work has started to transform the building into five flats for homeless families, as part of a £2.7 million project.

Bradford Council is leasing Clergy House from its owners, Bradford Cathedral, to bring it back into use while also tackling a shortfall in homeless accommodation.

The Council has a duty to provide shelter for people with nowhere else to go, but last year it was revealed the district was short of 40 beds, meaning many homeless people were being housed in B&Bs at taxpayers’ expense.

Councillor Val Slater, the executive member for housing at the Labour-led council, said this would help to address that problem.

She said: "We are very pleased to see this scheme come to fruition as it provides badly-needed accommodation with the appropriate support for the more vulnerable members of our community.

"Our current temporary accommodation is at capacity. This means that some homeless people have to be housed in bed and breakfast accommodation when we would prefer them to be in purpose-built accommodation such as this scheme, where they will get the support they need.

"This not only better serves the needs of the homeless, but it also saves the local authority money in the long run."

The project also includes building a new block of 13 flats for single rough sleepers, as well as interview rooms and offices for staff, on a Council-owned site next to Clergy House.

The Dean of Bradford, the Very Rev Jerry Lepine, said: "I am delighted that Clergy House is going to be restored as it is part of Bradford's splendid heritage and a beautiful building.

"That it is to be for a temporary homeless is particularly to be welcomed.

"So often regeneration is seen as solely economic. This project is about regeneration and social care - putting people first."

The refurbishment of Clergy House started this week, while the construction of the new-build property will begin in the New Year. The whole scheme should be finished by Christmas 2015.

The scheme had originally been valued at £1.3 million, but it has since been expanded to include more flats.

The new-build block will be specially designed so two smaller flats can be turned into one larger apartment if more homeless families need to be put up.

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