WORK on converting Burnley's former Water Board premises into a new information and activity centre is finally expected to start next week - more than seven months after community volunteers bought the building.

Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale Council for Voluntary Service won a £437,000 National Lottery grant to set up the East Lancashire Voluntary Resource Centre in the Yorkshire Street premises in March 1998.

The organisation took over in February after paying £120,000 for the boarded-up, two-storey premises but work on major refurbishment and adaptations has still to begin.

Today, however CVS press and publicity officer David Watson said the keys for the building would be formally handed over to contractors next week.

"There have been delays because we have had to sort out architectural matters, contracts, financial arrangements and deal with a budget shortfall," he said.

"It has been frustrating, but now things will soon be under way."

Mr Watson said there would be a staged completion to the work, with the CVS and the building management team moving in by the end of the year and groups using the centre, such as Groundwork East Lancashire, Crossroads Care, Victims' Support and Greenspace, in the premises by March 2,000.

The National Lottery award covered the purchase, renovation and three-year running and staffing costs of the stone-built offices which were built in 1902 by Burnley Corporation for £6,000.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.