A BID by council bosses to replace a homeless unit which is 'no longer fit for purpose' has suffered a setback due to a lack of funding.

Municipal Buildings chiefs had hoped to secure £3 million to overhaul services in the next five years.

But the Scottish Government has told the local authority to scale back its proposals, which included addressing issues around the 31-bedded hostel.

The Tele previously reported how an independent review on the Inverclyde Centre - which costs £350,000 a year to run - found it to be in poor repair and expensive to maintain.

Councillors will now be asked to approve a smaller bid aimed at tackling some of the existing problems instead.

A report by Inverclyde Health & Social Care Partnership director Louise Long says the current temporary accommodation service, available through the centre and temporary furnished flats, will continue.

But the briefing goes on to say that that a further review into the sustainability of the centre will need to take place.

The revised, cheaper £600,000 plan aims to put resources into supporting people at home.

Recent figures show that in March this year there were 50 families living in temporary accommodation in Inverclyde, including 15 children.

A total of 15 households said they had slept rough over the winter months

The current length of stay in the centre on Dalrymple Street, pictured, is eight weeks.

It can take around a year for those in need of the most support to build the skills necessary to settle into a tenancy.

Half of all those presenting as homeless in the district have a mental health illness and another 24 per cent suffer from alcohol or drug dependency.

Officials say the support needs of people presenting to the homelessness service in Inverclyde are 'significant and not currently fully met by existing service provision'.

The distribution of temporary accommodation - which is mostly in Greenock - has been highlighted as a problem.

Fifteen per cent of all those who present as homeless are from Port Glasgow, but only five per cent of temporary accommodation is in the town.

In Inverkip there is no temporary accommodation but statistics gathered by the council show five per cent of people who apply for homelessness status are from the village.

Councillors will discuss the situation at a meeting of the health and social care committee later this week.