Work is due to start next month on the conversion of a listed building in Heckmondwike into 32 luxury apartments.

The derelict Grade-II listed Upper Independent Chapel in High Street has been bought by Asquith Developments Ltd.

Kirklees Council had already accepted in principle a plan to develop it 'sensitively', but it had to be referred to the Secretary of State for the Environment, Margaret Beckett. She has now given it her approval.

Asquith chairman Russell Baker said they were delighted with the news and work would start next month.

He said: "We will soon appoint agents to sell the properties - billboards will be going up in the next three weeks.

"We have already had a certain level of interest and have had calls from people about the apartments, which are due to be completed by next October. We hope to have the show apartment ready by next spring."

He said the front of the chapel would be landscaped immediately so they could put a sales office on the site.

The apartments will be put on sale for up to £200,000.

Mr Baker said: "We will be replacing the windows like for like to keep the flavour of what it was before.

"There will be one, two and three-bedroomed apartments.

"The apartments will be hybrid - a mix of the old and the new. We want to retain as many of the original features as possible, such as the coving work around some of the windows. There will be oak and laminate flooring, spiral staircases and mezzanine floors. They will be very luxurious."

Secretary of the Spen Valley Civic Society, Jennifer Alderson said members were glad the chapel would be used once more.

"We are delighted," she said. "This is the third application that has been put in and passed for that chapel, but we have more hope with this one.

"This company has done this sort of thing before so we are hopeful. Let's just hope it gets off the ground, because it is about time something was done with that building - it is a wreck.