THE man behind a controversial plan to site a homeless centre in Clifton is to have a meeting with residents' groups.

Jeremy Jones, the head of Arc Light, and members of the Clifton and Grosvenor Terrace Residents' Association will have a private meeting on Friday.

It will be the first time the two sides have come face to face since Arc Light first indicated it had targeted the Shipton Street site as its new home.

Residents will have their chance to give their views on the development when as many as 300 are expected to pack into St Luke's Church, on August 16, when Arc Light bosses unveil their plans for the former Shipton Street School building.

The organisation has earmarked the building as the headquarters for a new 24-hour 34-bed homeless centre, which chiefs say would be one of the best in the country.

But the scheme has provoked huge anger in Clifton, with more than 2,000 people protesting against the plans. Many have turned up at public meetings and sent letters protesting at the proposed scheme.

The building could be sold to the organisation in a City of York Council meeting on September 19, but the application would then have to go through the planning process before any centre could be constructed on the site.

Campaigner Dave Nicholson has urged all residents with an interest in stopping Arc Light to turn up at the church and make homeless bosses aware of their views.

He warned Mr Jones that he could expect residents to spell out the reasons why they feel the residential area is unsuitable for the new centre.

"Two thousand people have signed the petition. An afternoon meeting about the plans was very well attended," he said.

"As more people get to hear about these plans, I think we can expect to see about 200 to 300 people turning up on August 16.

"There are only 16 curfewed areas in the country and this is one of them. This is an area with great social deprivation. This plan is complete and utter nonsense."

Updated: 10:29 Monday, August 08, 2005