Playground says Soulsby's £2m funding package actually means major budget cuts

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Leicester’s adventure playgrounds claim they are facing major funding cuts just months after the city’s mayor pledged additional support for the sector.

The sites, which provide spaces for young people to play, socialise and learn, have been encouraged by Leicester City Council to become financially independent.

In February, as some playgrounds struggled to remain open, City Mayor Sir Peter Soulsby announced that £2 million had been found to help support them through the transition.

However, one playground says the funding package now being offered by the council represents a cut of more than 50 per cent compared with its usual annual budget.

According to council documents seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the sites can apply for up to £50,000 in revenue funding this year and up to £25,000 next year.

The council says the £2 million package is intended as transitional support rather than a replacement, with some capital funding also up for grabs.

Applications will be assessed against several criteria, including governance, ability to manage change, sustainability plans, community benefit and value for money.

Kevin Sheriff, manager of Highfields Play Association, feels this scoring system could favour organisations already in a stronger financial position.

He said: “If your income goes down, the amount of funding goes down, so it has a spiral effect.

“If you take that core funding off us, we’re going backwards.

“There’s an irony in the fact that the one year Sir Peter says the government has given them a better settlement is the year our budget has been cut by more than half. To my mind he doesn’t have to do this.

“We are not a failing service – it’s doing great – we are a service that’s being failed.”

Mr Sheriff said the service attracts up to 120 children a day, and that plans to generate additional income through work with a nearby school were progressing well.

However, operating under these financial pressures has been “tough” and opening hours had already been cut back.

He said children and families in Highfields, where there is “very little green space to be had”, would be most affected.

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He added: “It’s devastating for the kids and families who have been making use of this resource for many years.”

Highfields Play Association also applied twice for funding through the government-backed Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme, but was unsuccessful.

Leicester City Council’s newest elected member, Councillor Aasiya Bora, who used the centre as a child, criticised the council’s approach.

She said: “In February, the Mayor promised that he would use £2m to keep the playgrounds open. Now we find that he’s dangling the funding, yet still keeping it firmly out of reach. He needs to reverse this decision immediately on this or Highfields Adventure Playground won’t be able to open its gates to children this summer.

“I know what the playgrounds bring to Leicester and what a disaster it would be if they can’t offer the kids the service I got.”

A city council spokesman said: “The play associations have known for some time that their council funding would end this April, and they have been encouraged and helped to apply for other sources of income.

“The additional pot of £2m is not intended to replace the previous grants. It’s a one-off sum of money which the associations can apply for, to further assist them while they develop their plans.

“This came about following a meeting between the play associations and the city mayor and his team, where the associations were asked what additional support they needed.

“We are offering up to £50,000 this year, and up to a further £25,000 next year, for running costs, and we’re also offering significant additional money for capital projects – such as adapting buildings to help them offer new services.

“We have spoken to all of the associations about their plans and know that some of them have some very innovative and advanced proposals.

“To date, we have not received an application from Highfields Play Association.

If any play association is unable to continue, the city council said they will make sure that open access play continues to be offered at the playground.

“The Government’s Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme has been running for many years, and operates very successfully in six different locations in Highfields,” the spokesperson continued.

“Highfields adventure playground association has only very recently applied for HAF funding, and with limited funding available to go round, their application was not strong enough to compete with the other providers who came forward, all with good track records in delivering this scheme in the Highfields area.”

Play associations have until the end of May 2026 to submit their funding applications. Money will be made available to successful applicants by the end of June.

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