Council support given to an established children’s support charity which closed suddenly has been questioned.

Southampton Children’s Play Association (SCPA) helped support thousands of families, often from the most deprived areas of the city, for 50 years.

Last year the charity, which provided after-school clubs, holiday play schemes and outdoor events, warned its future was in doubt due to funding issues.

A contract with the city council finished at the end of 2023, with the local authority offering £36,000 to support “core” costs while the additional income could be sought from other sources to cover overheads.

However, the Weston-based association closed on March 18.

At a Southampton City Council meeting two days later, cabinet member for children and learning Cllr Alexander Winning said the “sudden closure” came as “a bit of a shock”.

Conservative member Cllr Jaden Beaurain asked what steps the Labour cabinet member had taken to prevent the closure.

Clllr Winning said in addition to the £36,000 grant, officers worked with the charity on an application for Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) funding and held regular meetings with the association.

“The decision of SCPA to close came as a surprise following several positive meetings where the organisation was indicating that it had secured income from a number of sources to cover its costs and is of much disappointment, as we were in the middle of discussions around the profiling of the grant and open to flexing this to whatever worked best for SCPA,” Cllr Winning said.

Cllr Beaurain, who represents the Sholing ward, said it was an “incredibly disappointing situation”.

“This was a charity celebrating 50 years,” Cllr Beaurain said.

“A charity that was solely dedicated to the most vulnerable children from some of the most deprived areas in our city, so its incredibly disappointing that we have ended up in the situation where they have now unfortunately had to close.”

He pressed the cabinet member on what he did personally to support SCPA.

Cllr Winning said the steps taken by officers were at his direction.

A statement by the charity’s play development manager Anna Roberts said: “We have tried so so so hard to raise essential funds that Southampton City Council are no longer able to support us with.

"They are withdrawing £64,000 a year that we need for the charity’s core running costs alone.

“The SCPA committee and I have exhausted all avenues to try and raise money for SCPA. We now have to do what’s best for the charity and our employees.”

Ms Roberts, who had been a volunteer and manager for more than 25 years, said it was “heartbreaking to lose such a worthy cause”.