NEIGHBOURS in West Oxford have claimed victory after Thames Valley Probation Service unveiled its new headquarters in the city centre.

Residents of Mill Street, off Botley Road, have fought bitterly a planned probation centre in the road for the county’s criminals.

Gerry Marshall, chief probation officer, said: “It is highly unlikely we will ever return to Mill Street as an option because our overall plans have been revised.

“We have had to scale down our operations because we were not able to secure a property in Mill Street or the city centre of the scale we required to consolidate our services in the way we thought was right.”

It also means staff in Banbury and Abingdon will not be moving into Oxford, although the service’s bases at St Ebbe’s and Cowley will shift to St Aldate’s.

Rosemary Preston, a spokesman for the Mill Street campaign group Wocamp (West Oxford Community Against Mega Probation Centre), said: “We are delighted to hear that Thames Valley Probation has taken a four-year contract on a city centre location for its new HQ in Oxford, and this is a victory for our campaign.

“Our campaign has shown that it is essential for organisations to consult residents properly about their plans.”

The service has said it would be considering another base in South Oxfordshire, away from Abingdon, while it would stay in Banbury.

A statement from the probation service said: “Macmillan House is a satisfactory property and location for us, but its size will not enable us to extend our capacity, or our facilities beyond those already available at our current offices.

“Our hopes to enhance our services to offenders in Oxfordshire have been restricted.

“We have therefore decided to explore options for our Abingdon and Banbury offices which cannot be accommodated at Macmillan House, and we are already in consultation with the Ministry of Justice and the Home Office.”

Mr Marshall added: “It has been a difficult time for us all, as we had to vacate our current Oxford office in 2010, and the search for suitable sites in Oxford at an affordable price and in a suitable location has been incredibly hard.

“We are pleased to have found somewhere at last and look forward to moving in.”

Time line: March 2009: Probation service announces it wants to build a new probation centre in Mill Street at Trajan House. Residents collect a 1,000-name petition against it April: Residents promise a legal battle and plan a public meeting April: Residents lobby Justice Minister Jack Straw June: Twelve alternative sites are revealed. Mill Street plan is put on hold July: Proposal referred to the National Audit Office September: The owners of Trajan House say they won’t sell to Probation Service December: Probation bosses say they have identified a city centre site February 2010: Probation service reveals the location of their new office as being St Aldate’s.