A CHURCH hall in North Oxford has been given a £216,000 facelift to become the headquarters for a homelessness organisation which needed new premises.

The Gatehouse charity was given notice to quit Northgate Hall in St Michael’s Street, off Cornmarket, in March.

But St Giles’ Church in Woodstock Road has stepped in to ensure that the Gatehouse has a new home.

The church has contributed more than £100,000 towards the cost of refurbishing the Parish Rooms, while the charity has paid about £75,000.

Work began last month and the refurbishment was completed on Friday.

The vicar, the Rev Canon Andrew Bunch, said: “The parish rooms have been totally gutted and refurbished with new walls, floors and different seating.

“We now have a main hall, meeting room, storage room, new toilets, a new office and new kitchen.

“The Gatehouse will be here six days a week, and will run their café for the homeless, an arts group and a computer course.

“There are still people sleeping on the streets of Oxford in the winter but some of them don’t want to be tied up with society.

“I know one man in his 30s who sleeps in a tent because it gives him a sense of freedom, but it is very important that he can come here and get a good welcome.

“Every homeless person has a story to tell and should be treated as a human being by society — they should not be ignored.”

The vicar, who is chairman of trustees for the Gatehouse charity, said it was first formed in St Giles’ Church 22 years ago before moving to new premises.

Project director Andrew Smith said: “Thankfully we now have somewhere to go, although we won’t be moving before Christmas.”

A further £7,700 of funding for the revamp came from the Big Lottery and other donations have been made by benefactors.