WINCHESTER is a wealthy city and so homelessness has always stood out.

Over recent decades many efforts have been made to tackle the problem that is a stain upon this city's character. Much of the work has been done by charities, notably the Trinity Centre, initially from its base in a church hall in Upper Brook Street and the Nightshelter in various locations until it settled in Jewry Street.

In the age of austerity the problem worsened as programmes that had helped to tackle the root cause of homelessness, such as drug addiction and mental illness, were whittled away by local government, itself the victim of huge cuts in financial support from central government.

People of all political parties were bemused about these cuts because they were false savings. Money was saved from one account but there was a reckoning in other accounts as the social problem worsened.

A report to the housing committee said that in the last financial year, the council experienced a 122 per cent increase in approaches from households who were homeless or at risk of homelessness.

So it is good news that the city council is taking action to counter a predicted rise in homelessness, caused by more cuts. This involves setting aside housing such as 80-82 Sussex Street to keep people off the streets.

Among the issues is the need to house people who had been living in the poorly-managed West View House in Hyde Gate. It is set to close in the spring despite the county council recently deciding to extend funding into 2026.

The downside to all this is that whilst an acute crisis may have been averted the chronic lack of under-funding will mean that the men who used to live in West View House will move someplace else and likely cause problems because of a lack of adequate support. And so the merry-go-round goes on.