Community groups across Oxford are to be told to seek Lottery funding and charity money to bring scores of rundown play areas in the city up to standard.

Hard-up Oxford City Council is turning to them for help because it does not have enough cash to pay for the refurbishment of every play park, and has already used Lottery cash to finance upgrades to Barton Pool and Blackbird Leys Leisure Centre.

Local authorities cannot bid more than once for National Lottery money.

Bringing the city's 90 or so play parks up to scratch is estimated to cost £3m over six years, but the council has only £390,000 to throw at the problem.

Leisure chiefs now think the solution is for mother-and-toddler groups, parish councils and local action groups to apply for external funding.

Opposition councillors have accused the Liberal Democrat administration of passing the buck, but deputy council leader David Rundle said "communities knew best".

As reported in the Oxford Mail earlier this year, a draft council report recommended closing 14 play areas.

But a fresh top-level report, to be circulated to the city's six area committees this week, said closures were not necessary if funding was sought.

City council parks manager John Wade said: "The previous draft report recommended closures of some play areas.

"This report, reflecting the results of consultation and political direction, presents a different approach.

"Closures are not essential and would have provided only a small saving to the day-to-day maintenance budget."

Charities to which communities could apply include: *Big Lottery Fund *UK Villages Community Kitty *Co-operative Community Fund *Children's Play Programme *Awards for All *Better Neighbourhood Grant.

Mother-of-two Nicola Bastable, whose home backs on to Sermon Close play area in Risinghurst, which needs £70,000 of investment, said: "The nearest parks to here involve crossing roads.

"We are happy to help towards the cost of updating it by fundraising, but ideally the council should put the money towards improving the site."

Her daughter Rosanna, 13, added: "We all come here to play and our parents can see us so they don't worry about us.

"If they knock it down we've got nowhere else to go, it's our friendship area and if we lose it we will have nowhere else."

In May, the Oxford Mail revealed the 14 play areas across Oxford that were facing almost certain closure.

Below are those play areas and how much city council leisure chiefs have estimated it would cost to install a variety of equipment.

The play areas - or "pocket parks" as they have been described - are different in size and so the amount of equipment that could be installed varies in each case.

For some - including Bernwood Park, Girdlestone Road and Mason Road - the council has included an option to convert them into a grassed areas, which would not cost the authority anything.

In the case of Westfield Close in Cowley Marsh, parks officers have given locals the option of seeing £38,000 spent on play equipment - or ripping the area up and turning it into a car park.

At Chillingworth Crescent in Wood Farm there is no equipment at all, just the remnants of rubber matting underneath where equipment once stood.

Here, the city council is seeking an alternative use for the site - but the parish council could decide take it on and spend money refurbishing it.

Meanwhile, at Masons Road in Wood Farm, locals have three options: Refurbishing the play area, removing the equipment and seeing it closed or converting it into a park.

*Sermon Close, Risinghurst: £70,000 *Masons Road, Wood Farm: £63,000 *Girdlestone Road, Headington: £60,000 *Bernwood Park, Headington: £55,000 *Westfield Close, Cowley Marsh: £38,000 *Cholsey Close, Cowley: £37,000 *Marigold Close, Blackbird Leys: £26,000 *Columbine Gardens, Greater Leys: £24,000 *Juniper Drive, Blackbird Leys: £22,000 *Rowan Grove, Greater Leys: £20,000 *Campion Close, Blackbird Leys: £18,000 *Woodpecker Green, Greater Leys: £12,000 *Greenfinch Close, Blackbird Leys: £7,000 *Chillingworth Crescent, Wood Farm: no longer a play area, negotiate with parish council to manage.

The city council said it would make some so-called planning gain money, funds paid into council coffers by developers as part of planning permission, available and has increased its play area refurbishment budget.

Mr Rundle said: "None of these play areas has to close.

"The question is who is best placed to make these bids, and the more local, the more likely of success.

"This is about making decisions in the right place, and that's in the heart of communities, not hidden away in the Town Hall.

"The resources for any local authority are limited, finite and decreasing.

"In that situation we can either say 'there is nothing we can do about it' or we say 'how can we get round this?', and the key is getting external funding."