A 50-YEAR-OLD children's home which has given refuge to more than 1,000 vulnerable youngsters from across Yorkshire is to be sold.

The money made from the sale of Burnside House Children's Centre, on Carleton Road, Skipton, will be put towards building a new children's centre in Harrogate.

The new premises are expected to cater for all youngsters from Craven who need emergency residence.

Burnside House, which is run by North Yorkshire County Council, has been a cause for concern for nearby residents during recent years.

Complaints have been lodged by residents of Burnside Avenue, who were fed up with being disturbed by banging, screaming, youths running around, loud music and fire alarms constantly ringing.

They claimed the children's home had become more like a young offenders' residence.

However Deborah Hodgson, manager at Burnside House, said its closure would be a sad day for the staff and former residents of the home who had fond memories of being there.

Miss Hodgson began work at the centre as a house mother 22 years ago and said she had seen many changes.

"It has changed from the old style children's home to something that provides care that is much more like family life," she told the Herald.

"We are no longer looking after large numbers in a regimental fashion in dormitories but working with young people and families to try to get them back together again."

When Miss Hodgson started work the children's home was taking in and housing up to 20 youngsters at a time, who perhaps had suffered during a family breakdown.

More recently the numbers have been reduced and over the past 10 to 12 years the home had only looked after teenagers, teaching them skills to cope independently in the outside world.

Miss Hodgson said today, more of an emphasis had been put on keeping children in their own homes or placing them with foster carers.

But there were still up to six children cared for in Skipton now and she said it would be unsettling for any of those resident to have to transfer to Harrogate when the new premises opened in September.

Geoff Wall, head of support services at North Yorkshire's Social Services department, said the aim was to provide centralised children's care services in Harrogate.

He said a survey conducted two years ago had discovered relatively few children were coming from Skipton into the home and that Harrogate would be a better location to serve the whole catchment area.

The centre will provide 10 beds altogether, catering for those who need both short and long term care.

Mr Wall admitted there had been difficulties at the Skipton site in the past but hoped this new scheme would minimise all the problems.

The Skipton building is not listed although it is thought to date back some years.

Before it was established as a children's home, it is believed the premises were used as a convalescent home for RAF pilots during the war and as a rest home for members of the clergy.