COMMUNITY groups in Cowley will soon be given a new home after being without a dedicated hub for almost six years.

Work is under way to transform the former Cowley Community Centre site, in Barns Road, into 40 flats and community rooms.

The building was demolished in May 2009 after being deemed unsafe, leaving local people without a meeting place.

County councillor for Cowley John Sanders said: “We have not had any community facility for years. There are a lot of new people in Cowley who have, in my view, suffered because there has not been any community facility.”

Work on the development began in September and is expected to be completed in November.

Representatives from the city and county councils, homelessness charity Emmaus and arts hub the Ark T Centre joined housing group GreenSqaure for a tour of the site.

Mr Sanders, who took part in the tour, said many people in the neighbourhood had been disappointed about the amount of community space in the development.

He said: “We have done our best to make sure it is as big as possible.”

The development will also include a community garden, and a roof garden for residents. Emmaus will relocate its Northway furniture recycling store, in Westlands Drive, to new premises on the new building's ground floor.

The charity provides accommodation at its Oxford Road base for people at risk of homelessness, providing them with work in its shops.

Emmaus Oxford general manager Eddie Blaze said: “We are very excited about the new premises. Not only will it be a brand new, bigger purpose-built retail space, but we will have more room behind the scenes to process and repair donated furniture and household goods. It will provide greater opportunities for the people who live at Emmaus Oxford to gain new skills, and we will continue to provide amazing bargains like those at our existing second-hand superstore.”

The development is a joint venture between GreenSquare and Hab Housing, a company set up by Channel 4’s Grand Designs presenter Kevin McCloud.

Both companies worked closely during the public consultation, design and planning application processes but Hab Housing’s involvement ended when construction started.

Planning permission for the scheme, which does not include any car parking, was initially refused by the council in June 2013 but was “called in” and later approved.

GreenSquare development project manager Corrina Johnson said: “It’s been a busy few months on site and a lot has happened since work began.

“The building’s foundations were completed before Christmas by our contractor Feltham Construction and work on the main structure is progressing to roof level.

“At the moment, the team is building the internal walls on the ground floor, which gives us a better idea of how the final layout inside will look and means we can view the area that’ll become the community rooms.”