A POPULAR outdoor education centre near Oxford has been saved and could even be set to expand.

The Hill End centre in Farmoor is to be taken over by a new charitable organisation after an agreement was reached between Oxfordshire County Council, which manages the site, and Oxford University, which owns it.

The council decided it could no longer fund the running of the centre in January but it is now hoped the new arrangement could unlock more investment to benefit youngsters across the county.

Earlier this week councillors approved the move after the University agreed to the business model put forward by the authority.

County councillor for Rose Hill and Littlemore Gill Sanders said: "Many youngsters would never have been able to experience the joys of being outdoors without places like Hill End.

"It's really important for us to maintain this service even if we can't run it ourselves."

The Labour county councillor said preliminary discussions had taken place to involve Science Oxford – a charitable organisation in the city – as an example of how the experiences of young people could be further improved at the centre.

The centre, off Eynsham Road, is used by many schools for outdoor lessons about nature, and groups of young people with learning disabilities also enjoy courses at the 65-acre site.

Under the agreement, the county council will provide a £75,000 start-up sum to a prospective organisation and the university will offer it a minimum 21-year lease and a two-year initial rent-free period.

Staff currently working at the centre would be transferred to the new organisation, which would be established by the council and the university.

Cabinet member for children, education and families, Melinda Tilley, said: "We know how highly Oxfordshire residents value the services provided by Hill End, and both the council and are partners at Oxford University are committed to ensuring schools and other visitor groups continue to benefit from all that the centre has to offer.

"Hill End has a proud history of providing life-enhancing outdoor activities for Oxfordshire's children, young people and the wider community.

"We want to make sure this work not only continues but that there are also opportunities to enhance services in future."

The Hill End estate was bought by the mining entrepreneur and would-be philanthropist Raymond Ffennell in 1920.

Mr Ffennell believed children should engage with nature and set up a project in outdoor learning, with dormitories and classrooms, which he offered to local schools to use in the 1930s.