THE FUTURE of a city charity hangs in the balance as the opening of Southampton's multi-million pound arts complex is delayed.

Managers at City Eye - who have provided education and training to thousands of young people across Southampton since 1986 - say their future is threatened due to not having a base.

They were supposed to move into Studio 144 this spring but due to unexplained delays are still without a permanent base after six years.

Now a city councillor has labelled Studio 144 "a disaster" and is calling on the council to release financial records for the Guildhall Square arts complex.

Southampton Independents Councillor Andrew Pope said: "It's a disaster. The numbers don't stack up. Councillor Kaur should be explaining to the public why this project is massively over time and massively over budget and she should be explaining to City Eye why that is as well".

As previously reported Southampton City Council had to fork out an extra £1.8m in 2016 after fundraising efforts failed to meet their target for the £26.8m state of the art complex.

But with Nuffield Southampton Theatres already installed in the north building the delay behind the south building remains shrouded in mystery, with neither Southampton University, who will run the John Hansard Gallery, or the city council saying what the hold-up is.

Now City Eye director Susan Beckett says the future of the film education charity hangs in the balance after having had to reduce operations "massively" over the years.

The film specialist - who has worked for the organisation for 15 years said: "It's been life-threateningly difficult.

"We have had to scale back because we haven't had the space or resources or facilities.

"We moved in 2011 to Tower House and that was meant to be a stop gap".

But she added that funding cuts and reduced space have meant the team is reduced from six employees to just two - despite the organisation's involvement in the Studio 144 development since the start.

She added: "We started working on this project 15 years ago. It started when the Gantry closed down and we needed an arts centre for the Hansard and City Eye. But things are extremely difficult for us.

"We get a grant from the council of £21,000 until 2019 but we have been cut year on year on year.

"With a base we would be more fund-able because our earned income increases but we are not able to develop our work so we are not attractive to funders".

Despite the reduced scale of the operation the organisation continues to run the annual Southampton Film Week, which saw 2,000 people participate in workshops and screenings this October.

A spokesperson for Southampton City Council said the building was "close to completion". They said: "Southampton City Council is working closely with all the tenants of Studio 144 in the lead up to the opening. City Eye is a vital aspect in the city’s cultural offer and is the focal point for film in Southampton. We are doing everything we can to support them during the transition to their new facilities.”

"We are the freeholder of the land. We lease the whole development to a third party – the commercial developer. The arts ‘area’ and facilities are leased back to the council and in turn we lease the relevant bits to the arts organisations.

A spokesperson for Southampton University - who will run the John Hansard Gallery from the new site- said: "We know that the construction of S144 in both buildings is close to completion so we’re very much looking forward to announcing plans for its opening, with the many partners involved. We should have key dates shortly".

Nuffield Southampton Theatres will open their new venue in the south building with a weekend of events in February 2018.