A building in a country park is to be used to house families at risk of homelessness.

The four-bedroom property is on Stock Street, Bury, within Burrs Country Park.

The council owned property was a residential rented home until the tenant died and has been empty for around 10 months.

A report, which will be put before the council’s cabinet this week, says the authority plans a "substantial refurbishment" of the building, costing around £49,000.

The report said: “If approved, the property will provide temporary accommodation for larger, low-income families who are statutory homeless and in priority need, until a more permanent solution can be found.

"The rent would be capped at the local housing allowance (LHA) rate to ensure affordability.”

The report gave stark information on the number of larger properties available for bigger families at risk of homelessness in Bury.

It said: “There is a significant shortage of social housing in the borough, particularly larger three-and four-bedroom properties.

“Under current legislation, local authorities have a statutory duty to provide suitable, temporary accommodation to homeless households in priority need.

"At present, there are approximately 79 households on the housing waiting list with a four-bed need.

“The average waiting time for a four-bed property is 797 days.

“Since April 2020, only four, four-bedroomed properties have been advertised for re-let.”

A valuation of the property undertaken last month estimated the market value at present condition as £250,000 and following refurbishment £325,000.

The council said the £49,000 costs for renovation would come from £1.2 m of uncommitted commuted sums it is holding which which can be used to bring empty properties back into use.

The cabinet will be asked for formal approval to transfer the property from the land and property team to housing services.