MORE than 30 community organisations face major cuts in the cash they receive from Winchester City Council.

A letter has been sent to groups warning most grants will be stopped or reduced next year as the council prepares for an anticipated 25 per cent cut in mainly government funding.

Earlier this year the city council allocated 37 community groups a total £532,000 to help with running costs. The grants ranged in size from £420 to £118,975.

The biggest grants went to the Trinity Centre, Winchester Citizens’ Advice Bureau, Bishop’s Waltham and Meon Valley Citizens’ Advice Bureau, Winchester Area Community Action and the Hat Fair.

Others to get cash help included: The Carroll Centre, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Youth Options, Homestart Meon Valley, Winchester Churches Nightshelter, Winchester and District Young Carers, Age Concern Winchester, Winchester Rural Theatre, Winnall Rock School and Winchester and District Mencap In addition, Winchester Theatre Royal received about £200,000 from another pot of council cash.

The development comes after the council announced it is axing 70 jobs and redesigning services to cut costs. The authority faces a funding shortfall of about £2m.

But voluntary groups have warned cuts in local authority funding could threaten the services they provide.

In the letter, Cllr Lucille Thompson, portfolio holder for active communities, said: “A small number of organisations will continue to receive some revenue support next year and we will be identifying those in the coming weeks.

“But they will be a very small minority: most organisations need to rethink the financial model on which they have traditionally operated in the same way as the city council is doing.

“For example you may need to consider sharing staff or premises, reducing the scope of your services and seeking other sources of funding.”

Cllr Thompson said the council wanted to provide early warning to community groups as they prepare budgets and work programmes for 2011-12.

The city council hopes to help organisations find alternative sources of funding by sponsoring “Beat the Squeeze” seminars in Wickham Community Centre on Thursday October 28 and Winchester Guildhall on Thursday November 4.

Fiona Burn, chief executive, of Winchester Theatre Royal which puts on 220 professional shows a year plus amateur and community events, confirmed the theatre received £200,000 from the city council and £100,000 from Hampshire County Council.

She said: “Without that substantial funding the theatre would be in a precarious position but we have been working closely with our funders over the last 12 months to ensure that they are happy with the way the theatre is moving forward.”

Ms Burns said the theatre had a social responsibility but also boosted the local economy, adding; “You only have to look at the number of restaurants in Jewry Street to see that. It is no coincidence.”

Meon Valley Homestart - which provides friendship and practical support to young families going through difficult times - received a grant of £11,155 from the city council this year.

Trained volunteers visit families once or twice a week for a few hours to provide friendship and practical support. Many of the families are referred by health visitors and social services.

Jane Dawson, chair of trustees, said: “It is the Big Society which the government wants but we can’t survive without funding. Voluntary organisations are not free. That is the big misconception.

“The people who visit the families are volunteers as are the trustees but we have to pay staff to run the organisation properly “We have been expecting a reduction and could cope with that. What we would find much more difficult is if we got no funding at all.”

Meanwhile Winchester Citizen’s Advice Bureau (CAB) received £118,975 from the city council this year - the bulk of its funding.

The CAB provides free, confidential advice on debt, benefits, housing and employment as well as personal and family issues. Every fortnight it runs an advice desk at the county court for people faced with re-possession of their homes.

The group is faced with possible cuts in funding at the same time as demand for their services has increased with the recession and rising unemployment, especially in the public sector.

Jenny Meadows, bureau manager, said: “There is more demand, especially on employment and redundancy issues as well as debt. Any cuts are obviously going to affect the services we provide.”

Winchester Area Community Action, an umbrella group supporting 150 voluntary groups, received £101,800 from the city council last year.

Services it provides include Shopmobility and Dial-A-Ride, helping the elderly disabled to get to the shops and other facilities.

Paul Williams, chief executive, said: “Until we know for certain it is difficult to say what the impact will be on us. At the moment we don’t know and the city council doesn’t know what money is going to be available to us.

“We are going to have to work in different ways and do more with less.”

Eloise Appleby, assistant director of economic prosperity at the city council, said the authority was adopting a new approach of commissioning services to meets local strategic objectives instead of providing revenue funding to organisations.

She said: “A lot of good work is done by these organisations but we can’t afford to sustain them in the way we have done in the past. Public budgets have been slashed and we are no exception to the rule.”

The Cabinet will consider a report on budget options next month (November) and a final decision will be made in February.