THE long saga of a new community centre for Cholsey to replace its burnt-out pavilion takes another turn in January with an exhibition of plans.

The parish council hopes the village will like them so the project can take the next step of a planning application being submitted to South Oxfordshire District Council later in the year.

A replacement for the pavilion was first mooted in 2002 and a £1m-plus village centre was proposed.

In 2004, it got planning permission but funding for it from the sale of some of the village allotments never materialised after a protest led to none of the land being sold.

That project was dropped and, in 2005, a referendum in the village favoured a cut-down version of the original scheme.

The pavilion burned down in November 2005 after a wooden pallet was set alight in an arson attack.

In 2006, the village voted to demolish the fire-damaged building and in November 2007 architects put forward new plans.

Earlier this year, the project was discussed at the annual parish meeting. The latest move is to have an exhibition over the weekend of January 10 and 11 in the Laurence Hall. Councillors will be on hand to explain the plans for the building and there will be chance for people to express their opinions.

Parish council chairman Mark Gray said the architects were being asked to give the play area a little more breathing space and to allow room for tables and chairs for the cafe.

The parish council also wants space for a library but details have yet to be worked out with the county library service.

Rooms for doctors’ clinics have been set aside in the hope that, with the expansion of the village, they will become a doctors’ surgery. He said: “A group of councillors are meeting to start work on a business plan based on a model provided by the Oxfordshire Rural Community Council. A completed business plan and planning permission will allow us to put a robust case to grant-giving bodies when we start looking for funding.”