A furniture recycling service has saved an unwanted building from demolition to help young people on a Bradford estate get into work.

Newlands Furniture Service in Rockwell Lane, Greengates, has taken delivery of the 90sq ft portable building and plans to use it as a training centre to put on taster courses for pupils in their last year of school trying to decide on the right career path.

It used to belong to Newlands Community Association at the Hollybrook Centre, which is moving to purpose-built premises off Harrogate Road.

The idea is that some of the skill-based courses, such as furniture restoration and appliance safety testing, will help prepare donated furniture for sale again in the community.

Other courses will be for plastering, decorating, plumbing and bricklaying.

Before the new building arrived, the furniture service used five metal containers, which have also now been recycled. Two have gone to Thackley Football Club, one to Springfield Youth and Community Centre in Thorpe Edge and the others to a national Scouts base in Barnsley.

The furniture service relies on funding from sales it generates at its shops in Greengates, Thorpe Edge, Windhill and Shipley and from credits it gets paid based on the amount of goods it saves going to landfill. It gets around £100 per ton.

Every month, the service prevents 15 tonnes of furniture going to landfill. It now employs eight staff, and volunteers provide sales and administration support.

The new classroom has now had its roof fixed and had a disabled access put in. It also has a kitchen, a training room and decking area.

Finance officer Maria Rhodes said: “Our service is thriving. We can’t believe how it has grown. It’s the volunteers from the community who have built it up to what it is and that’s another reason why we are putting the training on. It’s us putting help back into the community.”