A FLAGSHIP scheme will bring much needed affordable housing to the Lake District village of Coniston on the site of a derelict youth centre.

The £1.7m project, which is set to get under way on Monday January 16, will see 10 homes targeted at those in local need built over the course of the year.

The initiative which will incorporate a three-bedroom family home, six two-bedroom houses and three one-bedroom homes, is set to be built on land that used to be occupied by the St Andrew's Youth Centre in Church Lane.

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The building was opened in 1970 and owned by the Diocese of Carlisle, which made the decision to shut the premises in September 2014 after it couldn't afford to upgrade the building which was in need of repair.

Steve Huddart is the chairman of Mitre Housing Association, which acquired the site following the closure of the youth centre.

He believes that the new homes, which are set to be finished by the end of 2017, will help to fill a gap in the low cost housing market in Coniston.

Mr Huddart said: "These houses will be brand new and up to the highest Decent Homes Standard which is the standard that government requires us to build to in terms of space and facilities.

"They will be nice and modern and I have no doubt they will be hugely attractive.

"This is quite a significant scheme and is probably the largest initiative this housing association has ever undertaken. We are absolutely delighted that we have now got it to the point where we can build on site."

In Coniston's Neighbourhood Plan for 2015, the parish council recognised that there was a significant lack of affordable homes in the area and according to Mr Huddart, local housing studies support the need for low cost homes.

Once the homes are finished later this year, they will be advertised to the people of Coniston and its surrounding villages and although there is no "specific criteria" for who the homes will be let to, Mr Huddart wants to give them to those who require them the most.

He said: "There is no specific criteria as such but we will try to target those who are in the greatest need.

"For instance, if there was someone who was homeless in Coniston, the likelihood is that they would get the property.

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"On the other extreme, if you had a single person who just fancied Coniston to live there would be nothing to stop them applying but their needs would be less."

A celebration will take place on Monday to herald the start of the work with Reverend James Newcome, who is president of the housing association, set to lead a turf-cutting ceremony.

The project is being funded by the association as well as through grants that have been provided by the Homes and Communities Agency and South Lakeland District Council.