A COMMUNITY group has warned it could lose vital income if proposals to bulldoze its Summertown centre go ahead.

In a draft blueprint for redevelopment of Diamond Place, Oxford City Council said it wanted to replace the North Oxford Association (NOA) building.

The council said this would allow it to expand Ferry Leisure Centre and has proposed a community “hub” nearby, which would also house a health centre.

It owns the building but leases it to the community group.

But the NOA has warned the temporary loss of a centre and its rooms would wipe out about two thirds of its income.

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The group, which has 600 members, provides activities including yoga, language lessons, lunch clubs and babysitting courses. Association member Sheila Glazebrook said: “While the city council owns our building, we do not receive any money from them and two thirds of our income comes from room rentals. If we do not have that income, it could make it very difficult to keep up regular activities.”

Mrs Glazebrook said the association wanted to retain its current premises and feared the disruption being housed in temporary buildings would cause.

The building was last refurbished over a nine-month period during 2004 and 2005 and during that time moved to temporary premises in Cutteslowe.

Mrs Glazebrook added: “If the city council insists on the demolition of the building it is vital that it provides an alternative one somewhere nearby so our work can continue.

“Any new centre must also be located on the ground floor.”

In a survey of 29 members the group said it carried out at a meeting last year, no-one backed plans to replace the community centre. But after a public consultation the city council said 68 per cent of respondents – 124 people out of 182 – were in favour.

City council leader Bob Price said the NOA’s centre was not an efficient use of space and expanding Ferry Leisure Centre would bring facilities such as soft play areas and indoor tennis courts. He said: “It would increase the amount of space at the leisure centre substantially and we could provide the NOA with a building that better suits its needs.”

Mr Price said the blueprint for Diamond Place – a supplementary planning document – would go out to public consultation in the coming weeks. If the plan was approved by the city council, he said the authority would seek a partnership with a private firm for the redevelopment.