VICARS in a twist about a burlesque club next to an Oxford church are trying to buy it out.

Owners of The Lodge, in Pennyfarthing Place, say they are considering a sale after approaches from the Littlegate Trust.

The evangelical group is run by members of St Ebbe's Church, which has complained for years about the club's "inappropriate" location just a few feet away.

Now they have lodged plans to turn it into centre for toddler groups and Bible classes instead, with owner Al Thompson confirming he is in talks about a deal to sell the long lease.

Speaking yesterday, he added: "We are investigating a sale and if they can get planning permission then there is potential for a deal to be done.

"If not, we will stay put. At the moment we are seeing how the land lies and what the options are.

"We are businesspeople, so everything is potentially for sale."

If the building was sold, the club would look for another premises in Oxford, Mr Thompson said.

He revealed there had been plans to replace it with a hotel but these were rebuffed by the city council.

The Littlegate Trust has lodged plans with Oxford City Council to change the building's use to a church hall "for the benefit of Christian work in Oxford".

A spokeswoman yesterday added: "The trust is in discussions about buying the lease.

"It’s early days to start making plans but we have a vision to use the building to serve people in the city."

St Ebbe's Church has been raising concerns about the Lodge since 2010, when it was previously a lap dancing club.

It was based in the Oxpens for a few years but moved back to Pennyfarthing Place last year, despite objections from the church, after the city council refused to renew its lease.

The Rev Peter Wilkinson said: "We have had concerns for some time about the club's location being so close to the church, so we would obviously be thrilled if we were able to use it for community purposes."

Church manager Andy Menary added: "Our hope is to reach agreement to be able to use it for the work of St Ebbe’s Church."

Plans submitted to the city council by the Littlegate Trust say the church hall would be used for children's groups, Bible classes, social gatherings, community meetings and prayer.

It adds: "The development will represent a significant benefit for the parish, in that it will enable the church to continue and improve its offering of important services to the local community."

City council leader Bob Price said the local authority – which owns the freehold of the building – welcomed the plans.

He added: "We would be very happy to work with [the trust] if they took up the lease.

"It is a very historic area of the city that has a generally nice, old Oxford feel to it so a church hall would be a much more suitable use.

"At the moment it is not an attractive part of the streetscape."

He said a hotel proposal had been put forward for the building but the plans put forward were "unsatisfactory".