A CRIMINAL rehabilitation centre in Otterbourne is set to wind up, leading to job cuts and heaping further pressure on supported housing.

More than a dozen offenders are set to be removed by Elderfield at the end of the month, the Chronicle can reveal.

It is hoped the hostel will reopen later this year to support other ex-convicts with lesser needs.

But the charity which runs the centre kept civic chiefs in the dark about its plans until yesterday, despite expecting them to foot the bill if any residents are at risk of homelessness.

Up to 15 offenders with complex problems, such as mental ill health, are helped towards independence at the Main Road hostel, which has been at the centre of two murder controversies in the past decade. It is the only facility of its kind in Winchester district but has been forced to scale down its provision after £200,000 cuts by Hampshire County Council.

Some of its nine staff are facing redundancy and the centre said residents are being helped to find new accommodation by the end of the month.

Paul Martin, who has lived there for more than a year, said: “It's horrible. You can't sleep at night, you have trouble during the day just worrying about it. Some people say it's not a nice place to live but it's a lot better than being on the street."

The centre has had a chequered past with the people of Otterbourne.

Violent sex offender Anthony Rice was living at Elderfield when he strangled and stabbed Winchester mother Naomi Bryant in 2005.

Three years later, after the body of 77-year-old Georgina Edmonds was found less than a mile away, four Elderfield residents were arrested and 200 local people packed into a public meeting. The real killer, Matthew Hamlen, given a life sentence last week, has no connection with the hostel.

Operator Langley House Trust hopes to secure funding for a new programme serving "people who have lower needs", according to Claire Burton, head of business development.

She said: "If we're able to provide a housing solution we will.

"It is too early to say if the current plans for Elderfield will happen as they are dependent on many different issues. We are currently working with the staff and service users to support them through the changes given the uncertainty that they currently face.

"If it was the case that one or two people didn't have an option to move on, I'm sure the council would continue funding if we were able to house them."

But discussions have not been opened with Winchester City Council, which has statutory duties to help the homeless.

The parties were due to meet on the issue for the first time yesterday.

Cllr Caroline Horrill, portfolio holder for housing, said: "The last thing we want is people put on the streets."