mA FORMER bail hostel could become home for up to 20 refugees.

Two three-storey buildings are set to be turned over to the new scheme, if councillors follow officers' advice and approve it, despite objections from nearby residents who fear it will fuel crime in the area.

Colony Homes Ltd, based in Epsom, wants to convert the two houses in Preston New Road, Blackburn, into bedsit accommodation for asylum seekers who have been granted permission to stay in Britain.

It will lease the properties to a firm called Clearsprings Management Ltd, which has a contract with NASS -- the National Asylum Support Service -- to provide accommodation for asylum seekers who have been given refugee status, which allows them to stay in the country where they have sought asylum.

The application was originally presented to a meeting of Blackburn with Darwen's planning and highways committee in May but was deferred after nearby residents said they had not been consulted on the scheme.

Councillors requested more details about what the two houses would be used for once they were converted into bedsits. Details of the fact it will be used for refugees is contained in a response from Colony Homes, which states that it has around 30 similar properties across the country.

Nearby residents have raised objections.

One letter stated: "We feel that from previous experience of other properties in the area being used as bedsits that it will create problems in the area. In the past, our properties have been burgled and we have suffered threats of violence from people living in these kinds of property. More of these bedsits will make it difficult for us to build a safe community around here."

A spokesman for Colony Homes said: "Currently, we operate 30 properties, housing 160 former asylum seekers, and the day-to-day operation is carried out by Clearsprings Management.

"In general, former asylum seekers all speak fluent English and have a skill, trade or profession and will eventually provide a valued resource to the local community.

"Our properties provide temporary accommodation for either single men or women while they await integration into a more permanent home."

The committee, which meets tonight, has been recommended to approve the scheme as long as there are only 10 bedsits in each house.