Boris Johnson officially opens the newly refurbished Arlington House in Camden

As part of the Governments Places of Change programme and on behalf of One Housing Group, Durkan extensively refurbished the hostel so it now has the capacity to house up to 95 people in a mix of supported and self-contained accommodation as well as 35 for affordable rent. Durkan de-institutionalised the hostel, transforming the out-of-date dormitory accommodation in to homes that encourage independence and offer much needed ongoing support to users, largely vulnerable people with dependency, mental health and other complex needs. Working within a phased programme Durkan ensured that disruption to existing service users was kept to a minimum.

The ground floor of Arlington House includes a training and conference centre, cultural and arts-based rooms, multi-function community rooms and retail space, all can be accessed by the wider community. Job and training opportunities are available to service users through a number of specialist partners occupying the ground floor. These include City Dining who are not only catering for residents and staff at Arlington, but training users with the aim of offering permanent positions. Arts charity SPACE are running the art studio for users, whilst providing creative and media training and Broadway are providing training programmes and conferencing facilities to the voluntary, private and statutory sectors. These facilities will provide users of Arlington with the resources they need to help get their lives back on track, encouraging them to develop ideas and learn new skills.

Speaking at the opening Boris Johnson stressed the importance of creating more affordable accommodation in the capital and announced that he his more than halfway towards delivering 50,000 affordable homes by 2012. He added: "Frankly if this is London's answer to a doss house in 2010, then I think that is a great credit to London."

Managing Director of Durkan, Robert Clark, comments: "By working closely with client One Housing Group and the London Borough of Camden, Durkan are delighted to have completed the regeneration of Arlington House and secured its long term future within the Camden community.

Durkan recognise that modern day hostels need to allow users to release their potential and provide a route out of exclusion into an independent, sustainable and self-financing life, Arlington House is a great example of how a hostel can positively change lives by offering training and educational and job opportunities."

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