The Bellgrove should have been shut down by the council during its hostel closure programme, according to a politician who represents residents.

Calton councillor George Redmond has been working with the owners of the facility to force them to make improvements.

But he admits his colleagues in the Labour administration should have bought the building and rehoused more than 140 destitute men who use it for shelter.

Most of the city's large-scale hostels were shut during a Scottish Government-funded decommissioning programme which ended in early 2013.

Councillor Redmond said: "The homelessness strategy where we closed three or four large hostels in the area should really have included the Bellgrove. It didn't and it led to the numbers in the Bellgrove probably doubling.

"It would have been down to funds. The city council has lost over £200m since 2007 so homelessness doesn't really feature prominently when you're looking to invest. It's always going to be education and other care services that we would invest in.

"I'm not saying they ignored it but they've certainly missed the Bellgrove. It should have featured in the homelessness strategy. You can't do a homelessness strategy just in the public facilities. It's got to include the private ones and we've missed that."

The Labour politician has been meeting regularly with the owners of the Bellgrove and the manager to ensure improvements are made to accommodation.

Councillor Redmond said: "I could easily be standing outside complaining about the Bellgrove and campaigning to close it like some politicians do, but if we were to close it where would those people go?

"My job is to get in there and engage with the owners, management and people who occupy it. I don't think I've got a choice. Whether I like it or not, whether anyone likes it or not, the people in there are my constituents and they're entitled to the same representation as people who live in big houses or high rise flats.

"Since we've engaged we've actually got quite a bit of money invested (by the owners), probably about half a million pounds. The next step is to continue investing to get the rooms people are sleeping in to a good quality and standard. They're not at the standard I want."

The politician admits he's been criticised for his strategy of engagement with the Bellgrove owners but insists he won't waver.

He said: "I'm not going to take instructions from anyone when it comes to my constituents. I've been burned with trying to hold the council line at times, but not anymore.

"The bottom line is the people of the Bellgrove are my constituents and they have got to be my priority.

"With all due respect to the government ministers, the leader of the council and the executive member, I've got to do what's right for them."

Councillor Redmond also concedes that Glasgow City Council is losing the battle to provide shelter for its destitute citizens.

He said: "I think there are huge challenges for us in terms of homelessness. There are hundreds of people living in shop doorways and under bridges.

"The pressures are actually on all the councils in the UK. But where is homelessness featuring when it comes to people's budgets? When the politicians are making decisions what is going to grab the attention of the electorate? Spending money on homelessness is not going to be something that is going to feature too prominently for people.

"The challenge is the council has priorities. We'll say that everything is a priority but social work is under extreme pressure and there are statutory and legal responsibilities and they'll tell you they're fulfilling them but the reality here is people are sleeping rough.

"Glasgow is finding it very difficult to fulfil its legal and statutory duties."