A CAMPAIGNER leading the fight to save Hampshire's Sure Start centres has written to the Queen to protest at council chiefs spending £10,000 of taxpayers money on a street party to celebrate her 90th birthday.

Mum-of-two Catherine Ovenden says she was inspired to write to Buckingham Palace by her seven-year-old daughter Lily who said to her: "I don't think the Queen would be very happy about this.”

As reported by the Daily Echo, Hampshire County Council approved a grant of £10,000 to help fund the party, which will take place in the grounds of Winchester Cathedral on June 11.

It will also double as a leaving party for the Dean of Winchester, the Very Rev James Atwell.

However activists are furious that the money is spent on a celebration at a time when dozens of Sure Start centres are facing the axe across Hampshire.

The scheme will see the 54 centres reduced to 11 district hubs in a bid to save £8.5million.

Cathedral bosses have refused to say exactly how the £10,000 of taxpayers money will be spent, but reiterated that it will ensure the event is free.

There will be fairground attractions including a vintage carousel, a band stand with live music acts playing throughout the day.

Anyone can attend the event for free and take a picnic to enjoy in the Cathedral grounds.

However eating at the table will come with a £5 charge, although food will be provided by the cathedral and it will also be free for children.

Activists have vowed to stage a peaceful protest and have also written to the Queen asking for her thoughts.

In her letter to Buckingham Palace, Ms Ovenden, who is leading the campaign to save the Sure Start centres, wrote: “I am very proud to be British and would like to celebrate your birthday with the rest of the nation.

"However, I feel strongly that council tax money should be used for frontline service provision, not parties.”

She told the Daily Echo: “I am being very patriotic I am proud to be British and I support celebrating the Queen’s birthday but I think communities should plan for that themselves.

"If they took that £10,000 and gave it to my local Sure Start centre, the work they could do would be phenomenal.

“I just think public money should not be spent on celebrating when we are in times of austerity. There is a no logic, sense and future in that.”

The cathedral is contributing £23,000 to the cost of the party. A spokesman refused to provide the exact details of what the £10,000 county council grant would pay for.

Phillip Holroyd-Smith, enterprise and events manager at Winchester Cathedral, said: “This is very much about putting on a public event and community-based activity.”

Former Mayor of Winchester Cllr Eileen Berry believes the party will be a fantastic community event.

Cllr Berry, said: "The event is for families and communities to come together to celebrate the Queen’s birthday and I think the country needs to celebrate some good news and keep our traditions.

"She deserves it and has done a damn good job and the people need an uplift.

“The money is not a lot to ask when you think about the money that has been thrown away and you do not know much about.

"£10,000 is a drop in the ocean.”

A spokesman for Buckingham Palace said it did not comment on private correspondence.