A NEW homeless community centre is to be set up on the site of a church in Burnley.

The Emmaus, which means hope, project will offer homeless people a base where they can sleep, but also job opportunities and the chance to play a full role in the community.

It will be based at the Burnley Lane Baptist Church, Colne Road.

Plans for the scheme have been handed into Burnley Council, whose planning committee will make the final decision on whether the scheme should get the green light.

There are more than 40 similar schemes across the UK, including ones in Preston and Bolton.

Emmaus communities offer a supportive 'family' environment where everyone has their part to play, sharing meals and household jobs as well as working within the community's business.

The charity asks people to agree to sign off primary benefits such as job seekers allowance and play a full participating role in the life of the community and to work to the best of their ability.

They must also vow not to bring alcohol or drugs into the community and not to behave in an anti-social or violent manner.

There is no limit to how long people stay in a community, it can be anything from a couple of weeks to several years.

Chair of the Burnley Emmaus project, former MP Peter Pike, said the plans were at an early stage, but that it was an exciting scheme. He said: "The projects not only offer homeless people accommodation, but they go beyond that and mean people can take a full role in a community where they live and work.

"It is a very exciting scheme, but we are only at an early stage and we need to consult fully with local residents about the plans."

The first Emmaus community was founded in Paris in 1949 by Abbé Pierre, a priest, MP and former member of the French resistance.

His idea spread around the world but didn't arrive in the UK until 1992, when the first community opened in Cambridge.