Eccles flats will help homeless 'get a roof over their heads'

Building work at the planned Haddon Road site is already under way

The building of 39 apartments aimed at providing housing for those at risk of homelessness has begun in Salford.

Landlord company ForHousing said the £3.7m development in Eccles would "address a shortage of low-cost supported accommodation" in the city.

A spokeswoman said they were being built on three sites that had "become anti-social behaviour hotspots".

Salford Mayor Paul Dennett said the flats would "go a long way to helping people get a roof over their heads".

Figures from Church of England group Greater Together Manchester show more than 1,000 are homeless in Salford, which accounts for almost 20% of those homeless across Greater Manchester.

ForHousing said work was under way at a site on Haddon Road, with planning approval currently being sought for locations on Vicars Street and Somerset Road.

The spokeswoman said the landlord would provide support to tenants for two years to assist with employment, training opportunities and long-term accommodation.

She added that the first site was scheduled for completion in spring 2020 with the other two sites completing by the following summer, subject to planning permission.

Welcoming the scheme, the region's mayor Andy Burnham, who has pledged to end rough sleeping in the area by 2020, said a "big part of reducing levels of homelessness in the long term is to build more homes for social rent".