A JERICHO community centre is likely to be sold to kickstart a fundraising campaign for its £6.6m replacement in a redeveloped Castle Mill boatyard.

The late Victorian building, on the corner of Canal Street and Cardigan Street, is run by the Jericho Community Association (JCA) but owned by St Barnabas Church, across the road.

Now a member of the parochial church council has said money from its sale will be donated to community group the Jericho Wharf Trust, to help pay for a new centre for the JCA.

As Jericho is a high-value area for property, the three-storey building is expected to sell for at least £1m.

St Barnabas Church Parochial Council member Dr Henry Gibbons said: “We are in the process of getting various valuations for the building, although many houses in Jericho these days would sell for about £1m, so I would have thought this could easily reach that. It is a historic understanding that the church would contribute to a new community centre and it certainly would not make sense to have two competing buildings.”

A new community centre is part of the much-anticipated redevelopment of the Castle Mill boatyard, which will also feature a public square, cafe and restaurant.

The scheme is due to go before Oxford City Council in the coming months.

Residents hope the new centre could add extra offices and event spaces for renting, to generate cash for community groups.

But it was claimed in June by the Jericho Wharf Trust (JWT) that developer Strategic Iconic Assets Heritage Acquisition Fund (SIAHAF) had put the centre in jeopardy by proposing to build it partly over the planned boatyard, pushing the cost from £5m to £6.6m. JWT has refused to back the boatyard scheme unless SIAHAF bridges the funding gap – making the money from the church even more critical.

Dr Gibbons added: “Obviously the cost for the new centre has escalated recently but we hope we might be able to contribute about 20 per cent of the total cost.

“A huge amount of fundraising will still be necessary, but we are happy to play our role. The parochial council will be meeting this month to discuss it in detail.”

Jericho Wharf Trust spokesman Peter Stalker said: “Funds raised from the previous community centre will be a very important basis on which we can start to fundraise for the new one.

“We have always been relying on this, so we are very happy the parochial council is going ahead with the valuation.

“The money would be a great start to our campaign and we hope it encourages other private donors to come forward.”