THE borough's only homeless shelter has moved to a temporary base while it undergoes a multimillion pound redevelopment.

Redbridge Night Shelter has transferred to 50 Mansfield Road, Ilford - a former bed and breakfast - while work begins to transform its permanent home in York Road.

The £2.7 million scheme will include the building of 18 rooms to give the shelter's residents more privacy and security, and a workshop where they can learn new skills before moving on.

The project, which is being jointly funded by the night shelter, various Government agencies and the council,

It comes after the charity merged with The Single Homeless Project - securing its long term future.

Shelter manager Vanessa Hemmings said: “We are really excited about the refurbishment underway at York road.

"The quality of the accommodation will be superb, the new building will look fantastic and the space that the new design has created will enable us to offer a wide range of activities that will help the people who use the service develop new skills and move forward in their lives with more security.

"The move has been a lot of work and we are so grateful to the many volunteers who give their time so generously to make it all possible.”

These views were echoed by Liz Rutherford, chief executive of SHP.

She said: "This will enable the shelter's users to have more privacy which is important.

"The shelter's temporary base in Mansfield Road is already a step up from the old building because it has individual bedrooms for users - but the new centre will be purpose built for their needs."

Redbridge Night Shelter is due to move back into the redeveloped centre in York Road in December next year.