ON the face of it, news that 77 homes are to be built in one of Worcester's most neglected city centre streets might not strike many as important.

The sharp-eyed will know that the number of dwellings scheduled for The Butts is significantly more than when the plan was first mooted, in part because 11 of the homes will be affordable housing.

We commend the city council for making that happen.

Those with an even sharper memory will think back to a night in August, 2000, when councillors Martin Clarke and David Bannister locked horns over 'affordable' housing in Warndon Villages.

While the rising of tempers at the Guildhall was unsavoury to some, it at least dragged a vital city debate into the debating chamber.

The text of the general argument was this: Should 'poor' people be allowed to live shoulder-to-shoulder with folk who can afford a fair-sized mortgage every month?

The row ended with the pledge that, in future, developers would be pressured to include affordable housing in plans.

It wasn't for us to say where right and wrong lay in the issue, though we admitted that "not in my backyard" always made us uneasy.

But not as uneasy as the feeling that, as a community, Worcester might be trying to avoid taking a difficult look at itself.

The plan for The Butts proves that the city has sustained its laudable approach - and, what's more, taken another massive step by increasing the amount of residential buildings in the city centre.

We have only one other thing to add. Let's hope this isn't the last such project.