A MUCH-LOVED South Side charity has had its funding pulled in a shock Scottish Government decision.

South Seeds, an environmental charity that started in Govanhill, relies on cash from the Climate Challenge Fund.

But government bosses gave the organisation less than two week's notice that its application had been rejected.

Now South Seeds general manager Lucy Gillie has been forced to take the tough decision to suspend services.

And it could be several months before fresh funding is found to allow the charity to fully reopen.

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Lucy said: "We were in no way complacent about receiving our funding.

"We know that the threshold for being awarded funding is high but we had been told our application had passed so we were hopeful of receiving our funding again this year.

"The issue is that the application was for a large project starting on April 1 but we were only given our decision in the past few days.

"It's such short notice when the Scottish Government could have told us at Christmas time or even early in the new year.

"As it is, we have missed our chance to apply for other funding pots as we were waiting for this decision."

The organisation, a multiple Evening Times Community Champion winner, was set up in Govanhill and had a base on Butterbiggins Road.

But over the past eight years it has expanded its services and South Seeds now has a shop front on Victoria Road.

More than 150 people each week drop in to the charity for advice and support, on top of the other services it provides.

South Seeds has a community garden called the Croft on the disused tennis court at Queen's Park recreation ground.

Each year locals are invited to apply to have a raised bed to grow fruit and vegetables.

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The Southside Tool Library lets residents save money by borrowing tools for DIY and gardening rather than having to buy them.

Its work helping residents cut their fuel bills has led to savings of around £100,000 for the community.

In 2017 a six-month scheme saw the charity fit energy-saving devices, including new double glazing, to homes in Govanhill,

resulting in reduced energy bills, warmer rooms, safer homes and better health.

Without the Climate Challenge Funding, the handyman service, tool library and home energy auditing service will cease.

Lucy said the charity is determined to keep the Urban Croft and the community garden running.

She said: "We work so hard to make sure we're targetting the things the South Side needs that we felt we were delivering a level of services that couldn't be improved.

"We cover two of the Scottish Governments key priorities: climate change and inequality, which is fairly unique.

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"We're going to be working incredibly hard to make sure we can find a new source of funding and reinstate our services as soon as possible but we have a lot of work ahead."

A spokesman for the Scottish Government said: "The Climate Challenge Fund is extremely competitive and the quality of applications to this round was extremely high.

"Project funding decisions are based on the recommendations of an independent expert panel. Unfortunately, it has not been possible to fund all projects that met the minimum funding criteria and only the highest scoring projects have been funded.

"The Fund administrator, Keep Scotland Beautiful, has offered detailed feedback to all groups on their applications and we would encourage them to take up this offer.

"A full announcement on the successful projects will be made shortly."