THE Salvation Army is set to pull out of running Bolton’s biggest homeless shelter because Bolton Council is drastically cutting the amount it spends on the project.

The local authority is withdrawing funding for 15 of the 67 beds at Gilead House, in Duke Street.

The charity says it has carried out a consultation with its staff to decide whether to continue offering its services at the hostel.

A spokesman for the Salvation Army said: “Following the news that Bolton Council is withdrawing funding for 15 of the 67 beds at the centre, we feel we cannot offer the very best in the financial circumstances.”

But the council said it was bringing in the changes after speaking to homeless people about what services they wanted.

Gilead House offers emergency beds but the council said homeless people wanted support to help regain their independence.

A council spokesman added: “The council has carried out a review of the services it provides to single homeless people and has identified that improvements can and should be made.

“Many of the people we spoke to highlighted aspirations to lead a more independent life, including doing their own cooking, gaining employment, having their own home and improving their confidence and motivation.”

The council’s contract with the charity comes to an end in March 2010 and the contract to run Gilead House will then be put out to tender.

The council and the Salvation Army both stressed that the centre would not close and that staff would have the option of staying at the hostel working for the new service provider.

A spokesman for the charity added: “Together with the council we are absolutely determined that services to homeless people in Bolton will not be affected by this change.”

The results of the consultation will be released later this month.

steven.thompson@theboltonnews.co.uk