Work is about to start converting two properties in York into reception centres for exhausted refugees from Kosovo.

Metal fences bar the entrance to Howe Hill but the elegant Victorian building, three stories tall and set back slightly from the road, can be clearly seen rising from among the trees.

Until two-and-a-half years ago, this was a respite care centre for people with learning difficulties.

It was closed because the city council felt it was no longer suitable, and put it up for sale. But now, as the crisis in Kosovo deepens and York gets ready to take 90 refugees from the strife-torn province, council officials have taken it temporarily off the market.

Both it and the other building being converted into a reception centre for the refugees, The Garth in New Earswick, need a lot of work in the next three weeks if they are to be ready in time.

The Acomb hostel consists of what was once a tall Victorian town house with a long modern extension behind, set in its own grounds. It has 18 double bedrooms, nine singles, and one larger room which could be used as a triple or small family room.

There is a main kitchen with a hatch through to a communal dining room, plus several kitchenettes and communal lounges scattered through the building. The grounds which surround Howe Hill make it a haven of peace and quiet - as well as ensuring the refugees will have the privacy they will need when they first arrive.

But after two-and-a-half years of neglect, they are overgrown and tangled, with tall grass in place of lawns and shrubbery that is out of control.

Inside, the building is littered with rubbish - broken furniture, half-dismantled plumbing, loose tiles, peeling wallpaper and fallen plaster. Loose wires sprout from walls and in the laundry there is a litter of old, broken-down washing machines which no-one ever bothered to remove. The building is cold and dank from being unheated for years.

New kitchens, bathrooms and dining areas need to be installed, laundries, play areas and creches set up, and the gardens tidied. Central heating and wiring needs to be checked, and some areas of the building re-decorated. Then the whole lot needs to be furnished - with beds, chairs, tables, linen, crockery and other equipment for almost 50 people. Council bosses, though, are confident they will have it ready in time.

On Monday they met voluntary organisations from across the region, including the Red Cross, the Council for Voluntary Services and WRVS, as well as the police, health workers, and council education and social services staff.

Bob Towner, the council's director of community services and one of the senior planners behind the operation, said: "We have been overwhelmed by the enthusiasm and commitment of everybody involved."

The council plans to draw upon its experience of refurbishing Park Grove School in order to complete the work as quickly as possible.

Mr Towner said: "We've got three weeks to get these buildings fully furnished, staffed and ready for use. We're confident we can do it."

One of the major problems those working with the refugees will face is that until they actually arrive at Leeds/Bradford airport, no-one will know exactly who is coming, and what kind of family groups need to be catered for.

The council's assistant director Peter Berry said: "In the refugee camps in Macedonia, there is a big wall with 30 countries written up on it. People sign up for a country and put their tent number down. When there is a flight, someone will come round to the tent. If they are there, they go. If not, they go on to the next tent.

"So they may be people from an urban area who are comparatively sophisticated, or they maybe from a rural area. Until they arrive in York, we just don't know."

Said a council spokesman: "We will just have to do the best we can, but we are sure we will be able to accommodate them and give them a good welcome."

All bar profits and door takings from the Spring Bank Holiday concert at Fibbers in York on Monday will go to relief work in Kosovo.

The day will be split in two, with donations on the door being taken for the afternoon acoustic sets and a £4 admission charge for the evening gig involving seven bands.

Staff, musicians and PA engineers all will be working for free. Taking part in the afternoon will be Julia Jenkins, opening proceedings at 2pm, Stu from Cognac, Hayley

Hutchinson, Sharon Winfield, Gina Dootson and The Beecharmers. Fibbers/Evening Press Battle of the Bands winners Vacant Goldfish start the night line-up at 7.15pm, followed by MIA (formerly Apocalips), Peep Show, plan-B, Breathe, Wooden Horse and Tung.

A coffee morning organised by St Mary's Church, Hambleton, raised £290 for the Kosovo Appeal. The next coffee morning, for church funds, will be held between 10am and noon on Saturday, June 5 in the Old School.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.