A HOMELESS centre is moving into a new base in the heart of Colchester.

And organisers say combined with a new shop nearby being opened by another charity, which also helps the homeless, it will create a “Hope Corner”.

Beacon House chief executive Vivienne Wiggins said she has been looking for a new centre for the organisation for two years.

Now she said she has found the best home for service users inside a ground-floor premises in part of Crouch Street in Colchester which is ready for redevelopment.

Work to convert the building has already begun.

Ms Wiggins said: “I was a bit like Goldilocks - that building’s too big, that one’s too small, this one is too expensive or too far out of town.

“We’ve been working out of a five-storey Edwardian building for the last 20 years so all of our services are provided on different levels which is a really complicated arrangement.

“Since December 2015, we recognised what worked well for a few people coming in didn’t work well for others as we were getting increasing numbers.

“It’s not just about climbing the stairs, some of our guys are quite vulnerable and want to see who’s around the building.

“But at the moment, they can’t see everything what’s on offer.”

The team will be working within a similar square-footage but without the “dead space” which was a deliberate choice.

Ms Wiggins added: “We wanted to maintain that sense of identity and relationship you get with a smaller building.

“We get to know people as individuals and, therefore, can help them better.”

There is also the potential to extend their opening hours.

She said: “I think the hardest time for a homeless person is from 4pm to 6pm because everyone is going home and it impresses on you that you’ve got nowhere to go.”

READ MORE: £5K BID TO HELP ROUGH SLEEPERS BRANDED AS A 'DANGER' TO CHILDREN

Last year, Beacon House had applied for planning permission to relocate to a Garrison site at Abbey Fields but Ms Wiggins said “it all went wrong”.

She said: “It had no modern sewage in it and I would be nervous about digging down in a Garrison site in case we disturbed any Roman history.”

The Emmaus charity, which provides homes and training for homeless people, is opening a shop in Crouch Street.

Ms Wiggins added: “Emmaus will be over the road and we’re both looking forward to the fact more will be offered for people in need.

“We’ll be able to refer individuals to each other so it will be a kind of ‘hope corner’.

“Some of these problems are too big for any one organisation so fix on their own so the more we work in partnership, the better it is.”

Beacon House’s current site in East Hill will be converted into nine residential units later this year.

READ MORE: EMMAUS TO OPEN NEW CAFE AND SHOP RUN BY HOMELESS PEOPLE