WORK has begun to transform an old building into Cirencester’s first youth hostel.


The 14-bedroom centre at New Brewery Arts (NBA) in Cricklade Street will retain its Cotswold stone but will look modern on the inside.


When completed in Spring 2016 the hostel will play host to groups and provide accommodation for those attending courses and workshops at the arts centre.


The Youth Hostel Association (YHA) youth hostel in Stow is up for sale after nearly 80 years serving the town. When it closes Cirencester will be home to the only youth hostel in the Cotswolds.


The budget lodge will have a mixture of dormitory and private rooms and will sleep around 40 people, with rooms ranging from £18 to £50.


It has been funded mainly through grants from The Arts Councils and Winstone Trust, with help from private donations.


Ali Russell, centre director for New Brewery Arts, came up with the idea. She hopes the hostel will encourage groups into the arts facility.


"I originally pitched the idea of the youth hostel to the trustees as a way of creating a sustainable future,” she said.


“Cirencester has a lot to offer people so I think there will be a lot of demand for the rooms. They can come for a weekend and do courses here or go elsewhere, like to Corinium Museum.


“We're really excited to see the project come to fruition and know that it will be a great addition to Cirencester and the county.”


The building has been designed and developed by Gloucester and London architects Potter and Holmes, experts in the green 'Passivhaus' style of building.


Passivhaus buildings use high levels of insulation, air tightness and controlled ventilation to minimise heat loss.


Peter Holmes, of Potter and Holmes, said: "This youth hostel project design has presented a few challenges compared to other Passivhaus structures, simply because of the scale of the project and the number of rooms requiring water supply and ventilation.


“What's more the original design had to be pared back to meet lower than expected levels of funding, but the finished product should be an impressive, Passivhaus-certified building which uses innovative approaches and may well form the blueprint of other, similar projects in the future."