Contractors were today due to start work on the second controversial new children's home to be built in Bradford.

The eight-bedroom property will be built next to the Owlet Family Centre in Owlet Road, Shipley, and have its first residents in April.

Last night local people gave a cautious welcome to the detailed plans for the £500,000 development.

But they warned that trust had to be rebuilt between Bradford Council and the neighbouring population if the youngsters, aged between ten and 16, were to be integrated into the community.

The plan caused protests from some residents as the site had been earmarked for recreation. Shipley Area Planning Panel intitally rejected it, but that decision was overturned by the Council's regulatory panel.

At last night's meeting, residents saw an artist's impression of the home. It will have parking for five vehicles, extensive lighting and security cameras. But plans for a two-metre high fence provoked protests that it could become "like a prison camp".

Resident Lynne Joyce said the home was bound to have a "physical and social impact on the local community".

She said the problem was not with the home's occupants but with the procedure for the application and the fact it deprived the area of much-needed green space.

"Everybody is rightly angry about how this decision has been made," she said.

Mark Claridge, whose home on Rosebery Mount overlooks the site, said: "I don't think the objections are anything to do with the children.

"It is just about the site they have chosen.

"There are a lot of children from around Shipley who need a home like this."

Kath Tunstall, Bradford Council's head of children and family services, said she hoped the meeting would be the start of a dialogue between the home and the community.

She said regular consultation would be carried out with residents and police and councillors would be welcome to visit the home.

Councillor Phil Thornton (Lab, Shipley East) said the development could enable new street lighting to be introduced to the area.

Contractors were expected to move onto the site today with building work beginning in two to three weeks.

Work is already underway on a home in Allerton and consultation has begun over two other proposed projects.