A TRUST aiming to boost Southampton’s cultural offering is set to close, it has been announced.

Bosses behind Southampton Cultural Development Trust say they will end their work next month.

They say it comes following the decision of backers, including Southampton City Council, to withdraw funding from the trust.

The announcement was made in a statement by the trust’s executive director James Gough and chair Brad Roynon.

In the statement, the pair said: “You may by now have heard informally that the Cultural Development Trust will be closing and that Southampton City Council in partnership with Arts Council England, Go! Southampton and the two Universities are looking at new models to deliver cultural leadership in the city.

“We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your support of the trust and wish you and all Southampton success as the city builds on our shared endeavours.”

The trust was launched four years ago with the aim of improving the city’s cultural offering.

According to the trust, its aim was to be a “facilitator for conversation, debate, and cohesion; brokering relationships in the city; and to raise ambitions such that the city is in a better position to bid for UK City of Culture”.

In the statement, bosses behind the trust said they would push ahead with the Cultural City Conference on Friday.

The event is planned to take place at the NST City Theatre on Above Bar Street.

The trust will then complete its final formal working day on Monday, July 15, before its offices on London Road, set to close on Wednesday, July 31.

In a joint statement, between the trust and its partners, bosses said: “In April 2019, Southampton City Council (SCC) with Arts Council England, Solent University, the University of Southampton and Go! Southampton, decided to cease funding the trust in favour of plans for an alternative delivery vehicle.

“Building on the work carried out by the trust, this new vehicle is envisaged to take Southampton forward into the next phase of its transformation enabling the city to achieve our continued city-wide vision and collective approach.

“In the immediate term, the Mayflower 400 programme will be led by SCC.”