AN EAST Oxford community group facing eviction from its home has called on councillors to help it fight the plans.

Oxford City Council told East Oxford Community Association last August it had a year to improve its management or face eviction from its Princes Street base.

It came after the council said it had “serious concerns”

about how the association was being run.

Members of the association have now pleaded for support from city councillors to stop them from being forced out of East Oxford Community Centre on August 15.

City councillor for St Mary’s Craig Simmons said: “They have been doing a great job to get the community centre back to a well-managed facility.

I think it’s wrong. It’s a community facility that’s always been managed by the community and it should continue to be managed by the community, in the best interests of the community.

“The community knows what’s best and the council should listen to residents and not ignore them.”

The city council initially told the association it had a month to leave its base last June, but gave members one year’s notice after protests against the plans.

It told the association, a registered charity which runs and hires out the centre, it needed to improve or the council’s communities and neighbourhoods team would take over.

Mr Simmons said: “It seems more of a political decision than a managerial one. A lot of people will be very upset to have their community facility taken away from them.

“The council has said it will continue to run it but that’s very different from a community facility and there’s no guarantee they will do that.”

Mr Simmons said association members asked councillors at the East Area Forum on April 20 to help them remain at the centre.

He said he would support trustees by liaising with council officers, giving them “a voice” within council procedures.

He added: “There is still time to save the community centre.”

Community association secretary Catherine Gundry said trustees had done”a good job” sorting issues out and have been working with council officers since last August.

She added: “We don’t see any reason whatsoever why the council should go ahead and evict us.”

City council executive director for community services Tim Sadler said: “Our intention is to develop the site as a facility for the community and we are progressing well with our plans to modernise and extend the existing facilities. The council has an approved budget to carry out the initial feasibility work necessary to get a costed plan together.

“We have formed a reference group of local representatives, including the association, to help us identify how services and facilities on the site should be developed. We hope to have a costed scheme on which to carry out consultation later in the year.”