THE vicar whose family helped set up an ex-offenders’ hostel in Winchester has spoken of his sadness at its closure.

Alleyne House on Hyde Street has been boarded up after the last resident departed last month.

The hostel was operated by Stonham Housing Association, part of the Home Group, after a donation from the Alleyne family in the late 1970s or early 1980s.

The head of the family was Sir John Alleyne, who died in 1985.

His son, also Sir John, 88, speaking to the Chronicle and living in retirement in Guildford, said he was disappointed to hear the news.

“What a good job it has done for a very long time, and proved its worth. Naturally it is a bit sad when you have to say goodbye.

“The value of the place was that it was small and so personal and that made it vulnerable.”

An issue will be the terms of the donation and the uses to which the building can be put. An 18th or 19th century building in Hyde would normally be expected to reach a high six-figure sum if sold for housing, and possibly a million pounds-plus.

Sir John said he hoped the building would not be sold for housing. “I hope Stonham will be able to put it to good use for those who need help and not just those who have got enough money to splash out on a flat.”

Sir John, the vicar of Weeke, was himself a campaigner on social issues, including the homeless, helping to set up the Trinity Centre in the mid-1980s and the action group on asylum seekers when they were being held in Winchester Prison at the turn of the Millennium.

Carol Harrowell, Home Group head of client services, said: “As a not-for-profit charity we rely on external funding for our services. Funding for this scheme ceased in March and all residents moved on to alternative accommodation in July. We’re currently exploring alternative uses for the building.”