The MG Car Club is staying in Abingdon after the council approved its plans for new headquarters.

The club threatened to leave the town after more than 75 years if it could not get a new HQ.

But members of the Vale of White Horse District Council's development control committee agreed by eight votes to six, with three abstentions, to approve plans for a re-developed site in Cemetery Road, the site of the old car factory that closed in 1979.

How the development would look Some supporters expressed concerns about a modern building in a Victorian street scene but said there were no planning grounds for refusing the application.

Nearby residents and Abingdon Town Council opposed the plan, saying the building would be out of keeping. They also feared bigger premises would lead to more traffic, noise, pollution and loss of light to some houses. But planning officers recommended approval.

After the meeting, Graham Applin of Applin Design said: "It was touch and go, but we made it and we are very relieved.

"Now we won't have to leave the town and can get on with developing new headquarters that will be worthy of one of the most famous names in motoring history."

But Ed Carlin, from Cemetery Road, said the building would be a monstrosity more suitable for a business park.

He added: "We are very disappointed. There is no where we can go now because we can't appeal against the decision."

Work on the new £850,000 headquarters is expected to start towards the end of the year.

A feature of the main building will be a large glass-fronted area featuring a picture of the factory gate and some of the old MG cars that were produced in Abingdon.

The club, with more than 40,000 members worldwide, is the biggest car club in the world and one of the most popular visitor attractions in Oxfordshire.

It has archive material and memorabilia from 50 years of car production

More material is building up following the collapse of MG Rover in Longbridge.