A £900,000 project to build new homeless accommodation will have to find a new home after its original location was sold off.

The Brighton and Hove City Council project to create new purpose-built housing for homeless suffering with health problems and addiction had been earmarked for former NHS clinic Hazel Cottage in Warren Road.

The authority is now looking for a new site to purchase and convert after Hazel Cottage became unavailable but has been boosted with the news that Government funding for the project can be used for a different location.

The £569,000 funding from the Homes and Communities Agency will create accommodation service for a group of people currently living in the city’s homeless hostels.

The new accommodation will offer at least eight en-suite rooms adapted for people with physical disabilities and will offer residents extra support.

In addition to the £569,000 grant, the scheme will also benefit from up to £230,000 of funding from the rental income the project generates.

The council will look to recruit a support provider to run the facility.

Councillor Anne Meadows, housing and new homes committee chairwoman, said: “Homelessness is a big problem in our city and we’re determined to tackle it.

“We want to improve the supply of affordable housing and also offer more housing that can support vulnerable people.

“This successful investment bid is an important step in that direction.”