A £13M PROJECT which will see apartments built on the site of a former homeless shelter has been approved by senior city councillors – to the dismay of opponents.

Lucy Faithfull House in Speedwell Street will be knocked down and replaced with 40 to 55 apartments, half of which will be affordable.

But opposition councillors lined against the proposals before formal plans were even drawn up.

The Liberal Democrats said they were opposed to the plan not accommodating homeless people, while the Green Party said it was disappointed that the whole project was not devoted entirely to providing affordable housing.

Lib Dems councillor, Elizabeth Wade, said: “Lucy Faithfull House was in a poor state and needed replacement but, before closure, it provided a valuable resource for the city’s homeless – 61 beds, washing and other facilities.

“The 40 to 55 flats which will be built in place of the hostel have a very different purpose: half will be commercial and half will be ‘affordable’ – and we have already learned from Barton Park that ‘affordable’ will not be within the means of an Oxford resident on an average salary.

“These new flats will not be providing accommodation for the rough sleepers who, despite January weather, we see bedding down in our streets.

“The city’s ruling Labour group is failing to recognise the scale of rough sleeping, which has been escalating throughout the country over the last seven years.”

But executive board member for housing, Mike Rowley, refuted the claims.

He said: “In 2016 (Oxfordshire) county council decided to replace provision of accommodation for the homeless at Lucy Faithfull House with equivalent provision on a number of sites across Oxford. The city council intends to ensure continued funding for this provision as county funding is wound down.”

The council will transfer its freehold in Lucy Faithfull House to its own housing company and then use a £13m loan to fund the development.

If it is unable to proceed, it has made arrangements to continue with house building as part of its Housing Revenue Account, a ring fenced budget used by local authorities to build homes.

But the Green Party’s leader, David Thomas, who previously said it would be ‘heartless’ to knock the building down, said the council should ensure that a new development should include solely affordable homes.

He said: “We expect more from a council that claims to be prioritising affordable housing.

“By providing only 50 per cent affordable housing the council is doing the absolute bare minimum to comply with its own planning rules.”

“We want to see 100 per cent social housing on the site. Investing in social housing is good for residents and provides the council with decent rates of return.

“In the midst of an affordability crisis Labour should be taking every opportunity to build affordable homes.”