IT'S GROUNDHOG day in Blackbird Leys as long-established plans to regenerate the estate have once again been pushed back.

Oxford City Council is due to give the estate a multi-million pound make-over but problems with funding have put the process back further - leading some to question how long they will have to wait.

Following a year-long pause on plans for an overhaul of the district centre in 2016, Oxford City Council was set to appoint a developer this spring.

But ongoing funding issues have meant the council is only now preparing to go to the open market, with a developer unlikely to be appointed until 2018.

Fiona Piercy, assistant chief executive for regeneration and economy, said the council has appointed real estates adviser CBRE to seek a partner.

Speaking a meeting of the Leys Community Partnership, she said: "We have been talking about it for quite some time. The council has been working behind the scenes.

"Our soft market testing indicated that there is interest in the project. We expect to take a shortlist to local residents to help select the developer before the end of this year."

Detailed plans for the regeneration, including a re-build of Blackbird Leys Community Centre and 190 new homes, were rubber-stamped by councillors in mid-2015.

The green space and shopping precinct in Blackbird Leys Road are to be revamped, with maisonettes over the shops replaced with seven- to eight-storey blocks of flats.

Last January the plans were put on ice after changes to national housing and planning legislation left the city council facing a £33.6m funding ‘black hole’, meaning the cash to be spent on the development was cut from £8.6m to £6.2m.

Then in December, city council leader Bob Price said a development partner would be appointed in spring 2017, with a planning application submitted in summer but this has now been put back.

Gordon Roper, chairman of Blackbird Leys Parish Council, said at the start of last year he could not see the work being done in the foreseeable future.

Following the latest announcement, he said: "Let's hope it's not put back any more, because we would like to see something concrete being done.

"Whether it's in 2020 or in my lifetime I don't know. I know they have done a bit with the flats, but we would like to see some sort of action."

Originally the city council had £10m earmarked for the project but it is not known yet how much the scheme will cost.

Meanwhile long-time residents are beginning to face problems due to the uncertainty of when, or indeed if, the plans will go ahead.

Alfred West, 90, who has lived above the shops in Blackbird Leys Road for more than 50 years, said he wanted to move closer to his daughter in Witney.

But the retired Cowley car plant worker has given up finding a buyer while a question mark hangs over how long the maisonettes will exist.

He said: "I am hoping to move out. They said they would be starting this in the spring. Spring next year seems a long time off."

Daughter Irene Chambers, 65, said: "We can't sell unless we get the council to buy him out. You can't say to someone 'I don't know how long you will get it for'."

Ms Piercy said the council would go to the market in about two months' time, aiming to collate bids from potential partners in October or November this year.

She said: "Around November we will get the community involved with a view to appointing a partner in January to February next year.

"Our main commitment as we carry out this complex and phased project is to ensure that everyone is looked after."

People with individual concerns, including those needing alternative accommodation, have been invited to contact Oxford City Council over the coming months.

There will also be a discussion on the plans at the next meeting of Blackbird Leys Parish Council, from 7pm on Tuesday, May 30 in the community centre.

Are you affected by the redevelopment plans? Let us know your thoughts by email or call 01865 425271.