THE rise in the number of homeless people in Trowbridge has sparked a scheme to transform a derelict pub into a hub for the homeless.

Breakthrough Trowbridge has revealed plans to take on The Carpenters Arms in Roundstone Street, which has been empty for around a decade, and create a safe house with eight bedrooms to help recovering addicts get back on their feet and find employment.

The overall cost of the project is expected to be about £500,000, including the £195,000 asking price for the building, with London-based social enterprise Green Pastures set to cover the costs before renting the building back to Breakthrough at a cut price.

The Rev Barrie Dearlove, Breakthrough manager, said: “When we started a year ago we had around five regular users who just popped in to have something to eat, but now we have 20 people who use it daily and depend on us.

“We need to expand and taking on the Carpenter Arms will be a very exciting development if all goes to plan. It will extend our services and give us the opportunity to properly support people who need it most.

“It will not just be a case of dossing around when they’re staying, they will have to work hard with the aim of helping them re-establish themselves within two years.”

Breakthough estimate they know of at least a dozen homeless people in Trowbridge, who it hopes will benefit from the scheme.

After the transformation, the top floor of the building will accommodate eight recovering addicts while the ground floor will act as a drop-in centre, similar to the one the charity currently runs at the Salvation Army in Castle Street.

Rev Dearlove plans to make it an 'all-inclusive hub' where external organisations such as Turning Point can come in and offer advice, while workshops will be held for people to boost their chances of employment.

“I visited a Green Pastures project in Mansfield last week and it was absolutely brilliant – it really made me excited for the future,” added Rev Dearlove.

“We really hope the community supports this project and as always we would be delighted if people want to make a donation – it all helps."

The charity can be contacted on dearlove_12@hotmail.com or 01225 752459.