A new community facility should be built on the site of Cowley Community Centre, it has been recommended.

The run-down centre, which has been effectively condemned by fire safety experts, has been at the centre of controversy since Cowley Community Association handed back the keys to Oxford City Council last August.

The centre's social club was forced to close after racking up debts totalling £100,000. Now, the options are being explored about what kind of facility could be built when the building is finally flattened.

Cowley area co-ordinator Angela Cristofoli said a number of different partners could be involved, meaning even more community facilities could be available on the site once the existing buildings were demolished.

She said the health centre in Temple Road - the building for which is already owned by the council - had expressed an interest in coming to the Barns Road site.

Cowley area committee chairman Bryan Keen said: "If the health centre from Temple Cowley wants to come down then you could also put the Cowley library in there as well.

"At this stage none of these things have been thought about, but at this stage we need to support in principle the options, which include a community centre."

More than a dozen groups based in the centre have been told they need to leave by Friday, April 25 - after which the centre cannot be used for fire safety reasons and work to remove asbestos on site and demolish the buildings is expected to begin soon after.

Ms Cristofoli said about 10 groups had successfully found new homes - but members of community radio station OX4 FM made an impassioned plea for them to be allowed to stay as the alternative they had been found, in Sorrel Road, Blackbird Leys, was inadequate.

David Norland, of the station, said it was "heartbreaking" to be told to move out, adding: "So far we have been offered a single room, from which we couldn't hope to run an FM station."

The council's community scrutiny committee will discuss the centre's future on Tuesday, April 22.