ONE of Burnley's eyesore buildings is to become the new home for Burnley and Padiham Community Housing.

The housing association, which is also changing its name to Calico, will move into Safeway House in July.

The company, which is changing name to avoid confusion with the council, has been looking for a home for the last two years.

The lease on their current base at Princess Way runs out next year.

A spokesman for the association said: "We have chosen a new name which has a local link to the cotton industry and we will take up the new name when we move into our new office in July."

Burnley and Padiham Community Housing took over Burnley Borough Council's former housing stock of more than 5,200 houses in 2000.

During those four years, the company has spent £53million spent on its properties.

The work has included installing central heating, new kitchens, double glazing and electrical rewiring.

Safeway House, which overlooks Centenary Way and the bus station, has long been a blot on the landscape.

The building was improved when the Litten Tree pub opened two years ago, consuming 6,500 sq ft of the site.

The building, next to the bus station, was refurbished by Surrey Free Inns when £6.5million plans to redevelop the area collapsed.

Safeway House is a five-storey building owned by Manchester-based developers Modus Properties.

The area recently benefited from the £3m redevelopment of the bus station and the opening of the 6,000 sq ft Tesco store in Centenary Way.

Empty shop properties in Gunsmith Place facing on to the bus station are also set to be developed, rather than demolished.

The ground floor of Safeway House was once a Safeway supermarket with Inland Revenue offices on the higher floors.

The Tesco store development took over the site of the former GPO building and builders' merchants across Centenary Way from the bus station.