A NEW home believed to be worth half-a-million pounds has been bought for the new Archbishop of York so repairs can go ahead at Bishopthorpe Palace, the primate's official residence.

Dr John Sentamu will spend the first year in his new role at a three-storey house in Main Street, Bishopthorpe, just round the corner from the palace.

Work at the palace, expected to take up most of next year, will include an upgrade of fire protection and improvements to the heating and electrical systems.

Work will also be done to help separate the private and public areas of the archbishop's official residence.

Dr Sentamu will use his home in Main Street as private accommodation for himself and his wife, Margaret, and will continue to work from an office at the palace.

The schedule of repairs will mainly affect the north wing, with the conference centre remaining open for business as usual.

The new archbishop, currently Bishop of Birmingham, now lives with his family, but it is understood his two grown-up children will not be moving with him to York.

News of the temporary living arrangements comes as Dr Sentamu awaits formal election as the 97th Archbishop of York by members of the College of Canons at a private ceremony in the Chapter House at York Minster tomorrow.

The Dean of York, the Very Reverend Keith Jones, will publicly announce the election in front of the Minster's Quire screen at about 11.30am.

Ugandan-born Dr Sentamu's appointment was formally approved by the Queen on June 17. He is Britain's first black archbishop.

Tomorrow's election, a procedure which gives legal validity to the Crown's appointment, will be formally confirmed on October 5.

The tradition of electing bishops dates back to the reign of King John, who in 1214 granted cathedral chapters the permission to do so after an appointment by the Crown.

Dr Sentamu will become archbishop at October's confirmation ceremony, led by the Archbishop of Canterbury and six senior bishops at St Mary-le-Bow church in London.

But his official ministry in the city and the North of England will not begin until November 30, when he is enthroned at York Minster.

York diocesan spokesman Martin Sheppard said today that the purchase of the new home had been a "responsible investment," with the property to be sold when the palace was habitable again.

However, he conceded that the house could fall in value if the bottom fell out of the property market.

He said the property was ideally situated very close to the palace, and the six bedrooms meant the archbishop would be able to provide accommodation for official visitors.

Updated: 10:08 Wednesday, July 20, 2005