A leading Winchester councillor has criticised the homeless charity, Trinity Winchester and the way it is run by an official watchdog. 

Councillor Eileen Berry, a member of the Social Issues Scrutiny Panel spoke after a presentation by Trinity about how it is looking to spend future funding. The Conservative councillor said: “They’ve got good intentions, but good intentions don’t pay the bills.” She also claimed the charity should be focusing on providing basic care instead of looking too far into future spending: “What they initially should be doing is providing open arms and comfort to the traveller”. 

Chief Executive of Trinity, Michelle Gardner denied the claims: “We're very grateful we're a key client of the city council. But if you take all of [Trinity's range of services] away and we were just a soup kitchen there would be no progress. It's a really complex issue and it's expensive - you can either do it well and give people the chance to really change for the long term or just give them a cup of soup.” 

Head of Winchester City Council, Councillor George Beckett issued a statement underlying the support the council provides for the charity: "Trinity Winchester has recently been awarded a total of £91,200 from the annual Community Revenue Grant Scheme. This organisation has been funded by Winchester City Council over several years and is regarded as one of our partner organisations. This organisation has also been confirmed as one of our 'key clients' which will ensure that it receives funding at a similar level over the next three years."