New homeless hostel on the way

The £3.4 million Eagle scheme will see a 32-bed hostel opened in Newport Road.

The old Eagle Inn will be retained as offices as part of the redevelopment.

Fears have been raised over the new hostel, with critics claiming the facility could bring increased levels of crime and disorder to Stafford's streets.

The Bethany Trust, which ran the old hostel, had its funding withdrawn in 2005 after "continued and serious failings" put clients and staff at risk and led to high rates of crime and anti-social behaviour.

Forebridge ward councillor Chris Baron said: "I have already had a lot of constituents saying they are dreading the new hostel opening. It will be a different organisation running it and we have got to wait and see how they get on, but we don't want to see the same mistakes made." The Liberal Democrat councillor said she and other Stafford borough councillors had been to see how a Midland Heart hostel was run in Birmingham.

"We were all impressed at how it was operated," she added. Council bosses have repeatedly insisted that tenants of the Eagle building will not blight the town centre like some of the Bethany Project's residents did until it was forced to close.

Wendy Brown, project manager at housing group Midland Heart, which will manage the facility, said the exterior of the new build was in place.

"The redevelopment of 14 and 14a Newport Road is continuing well with significant progress on both the new build and the former Eagle Inn," she said.

"We have constructed the exterior of the new build, completed the roof work, and made the building water-tight." The Eagle, which will be linked to the former Grade II-listed Eagle Inn by a glazed link, will provide 10 "direct access" rooms with communal facilities and 22 self-contained two-room apartments to provide accommodation for people in the stage between homelessness and finding their own home.