WORK is expected to start on the second phase of a housing scheme to provide temporary accommodation for homeless people in the autumn.

Bradford Council is already refurbishing a Grade II listed church building nearby as part of the project.

The scheme involves converting and refurbishing Clergy House on Barkerend Road, which is being leased by the local authority from Bradford Cathedral.

Now the Council also has permission for its revised plans for the neighbouring piece of land at Barkerend Road and Jermyn Street, called Jermyn Court, to build a new block of 13 flats which will complete the project.

The Council has a duty to provide shelter for people with nowhere else to go, but a shortfall of beds meant many homeless people were being housed in B&B accommodation at taxpayers' expense.

It is expected that this combined project will help tackle that problem.

Deputy leader of the Council, Councillor Val Slater, who is also the executive member for housing, planning and transport, said: "The refurbishment of Clergy House into five flats for homeless families began last November and is well under way.

"We also now have permission to create a new block of 13 new flats on land next to Clergy House which we hope will start to be built in the autumn.

"This will provide some much-needed accommodation with the right levels of support for some of the more vulnerable people in our society."

Clergy House is currently being transformed into five flats suitable for homeless families.

The latest revised plans for the Council-owned site next to Clergy House includes one and two bedroom flats, as well as reception facilities and offices for staff.

A report on the project says: "Analysis suggests that Bradford currently has a lower level of temporary housing provision than other authorities of a similar size and that an additional 40 units of appropriate temporary accommodation are required to meet demand."

Passing the latest plans for Jermyn Court, which reduce the building height by a storey from three floors, planning officer Mark Hutchinson said: "The scale and massing of the building will ensure that the development would make a positive contribution to the street scene and would preserve and enhance the conservation areas and setting of important listed buildings nearby."