A BID for new bedsits for ex-service personnel down on their luck goes back before planners in Richmond next week.

It was confirmed last year that a quarter of Britain's homeless have a military background and the MoD linked up with the Church to pioneer new projects to help them.

Defence Minister Geoff Hoon visited Catterick Garrison to launch the Single Persons Accommodation for Ex-Services (SPACES) scheme in the north - and the English Churches Council submitted an application soon afterwards to convert to old Chapel Gallery on Richmond's Ryder's Wynd into flats.

Richmondshire District Council's planning team has already considered the project once - only to defer a decision until it had had talks with the local administration.

The town council has since voted to resist the project on the grounds it would mean the loss more of the town's retail space.

However, it is the district council's planning committee which has the final say - and members sit down on Tuesday to a report which recommends the project is approved.