A MUCH-loved summer playscheme will have to be shortened to safeguard its future.
A group of councillors has revealed the summer playscheme run by Flintshire Council and held in various locations across the county, will have to be cut from five weeks to just three because of funding cuts.
The task and finish group, led by Cllr Carolyn Thomas, told a meeting of the lifelong learning overview and scrutiny committee that the playscheme, the only service of its kind in Wales, will have to rely on cash from town and community councils as well as the county council after Welsh Government funding was cut.
She said: “Match funding from town and community councils might be the only way. Most of the councils we spoke to were in favour of it and even the smaller ones said they would be able to fund something. There were just one or two who seemed reluctant.”
The group appealed to Flintshire Council to match-fund contributions from communities in a bid to avoid the closure of any playgroups in the scheme, which attracts 40 per cent of the county’s five to 12-year-olds.
Last summer, the playscheme attracted a 17 per cent increase in attendance compared to the year.
The task and finish group proposed that Flintshire Council go back to town and community councils who have more than two settings and want to keep them, and offer to match fund the extra settings if they want to continue.
The committee voted for the proposal to go before the council.