A CONTROVERSIAL application to turn a York church hall into temporary housing for the homeless is set to go to a public inquiry.

City planners last year threw out Yorkshire Community Housing's application to turn St Clement's Church Hall, in Cygnet Street, into nine supported flats.

Councillors agreed with St Clement's Hall Preservation Trust that the hall needed to be maintained as a community facility.

There were no viable alternatives to the hall in the area, they said.

Yorkshire Community Housing appealed against the decision, and the Secretary of State for the Environment, Margaret Beckett, has called a public inquiry.

Joe Bvumburai, group development manager with Yorkshire Community Housing (YCH), said there was a chance the inquiry could be avoided.

He said: "The ultimate aim is to win the appeal, but if things happen in the meantime that resolve the problem we would withdraw from the inquiry."

Mr Bvumburai said a number of options were being discussed for the site, one of which could see the church hall being maintained next to the flats development.

"Nothing is fixed and no decisions have been made on funding yet," he said.

Isobel Rhodes Bernays, of St Clement's Hall Preservation Trust, said: "Obviously what we care about and what we have always cared about is the hall. As we said after the last planning meeting, at which the planning application was refused, we are happy to work with anyone for a satisfactory solution to retain the hall for community use.

"We are concerned that the threat has not yet totally passed. If it does go to public inquiry we would call on the wide support present at the original hearing to come out in force again.

"If it comes to it we would fight to keep the hall, there is no doubt about that."

The hall preservation trust was set up to campaign against the plans when they were first revealed. Thirty-three people living near the hall sent letters of objection to the council, calling on it to save the 19th century hall. It has been used for dances, wedding receptions and community meetings for more than 100 years.

Updated: 11:01 Thursday, June 19, 2003