CAMPAIGNERS fighting the proposed Arc Light homeless centre in Clifton today reacted with fury after its boss said the area was the only choice.

In an interview in today's Evening Press, Jeremy Jones revealed he was only considering the former Shipton Street School for a new 24-hour, 34-bed building.

Mr Jones was speaking as the campaign to stop the proposal to use the old school as Arc Light's new base continued to gather pace.

The strength of public feeling in Clifton was revealed after a series of posters went up at the school site attacking Mr Jones and Arc Light's residents.

During a tour of its current headquarters in Leeman Road, Mr Jones told the Evening Press that the centre's Government funding, which will pay for the new homeless centre, could be lost unless the issues in Shipton Street were resolved.

Mr Jones said: "There are no other sites we are looking at, at the moment.

"Unless we are able to come to a conclusion around Shipton Street, one which is acceptable to the local community and the city, there is a real possibility that the Government funding will be withdrawn."

Resources chiefs at City of York Council will decide on September 19 whether to sell the building to Arc Light, who would then have to successfully negotiate planning procedures before the centre could be built.

Arc Light says, if approved, the new centre would be one of the country's best, giving homeless people a second chance to integrate into society.

But Arc Light's insistence on Clifton has angered residents.

Helen Douglas, secretary of the Clifton Residents' Association, said: "As a community, we can't support this plan. The reason they have chosen Clifton is because they can't find anywhere else. It needs to be nearer to the train station and the centre of the city.

"I don't believe what Jeremy Jones says. We are not saying there doesn't need to be another Arc Light centre. We are saying that this is just not the right place."

Barney Skrentny, of the Grosvenor Terrace Residents' Association, said: "I am quite shocked by these statements to hear there is no other site available for an important plan such as this."

Updated: 10:03 Friday, August 05, 2005