PRE-FABRICATED "modular" buildings will be used to replace a crumbling council-owned homeless hostel.

The Ordnance Lane hostel current houses 32 temporary accommodation units, but could be pulled down and replaced with a new facility of 39 units, at a cost of £3.56 million.

The units will be a mix of one and two bedroomed apartments, with cooking facilities and en suite bathrooms, as well as training areas and common rooms for meetings.

But to speed up the building process, the council is looking at modular factory-built units. If used, they would cut down the time between demolition of the old buildings and occupation of the new ones to 16 weeks.

And because the modular buildings are smaller than the current facilities, some of the land could be used to build new council homes.

The proposals are due to go before City of York Council's cabinet on Tuesday for approval to start the procurement process and use £3.56 million from the council's Housing Revenue Account Investment Fund to pay for the project.

Councillor Tracey Simpson-Laing, Cabinet Member for Homes and Safer Communities, said: “Upgrading our homeless accommodation provision is a key element of our strategy. Using a modular construction scheme –subject to Cabinet’s approval – would minimise disruption, maximise the site’s available space while leaving room for additional council houses, and would create energy efficient, accessible accommodation within available budgets.”