Charities and other groups will not have to pay to use Oxford Town Hall after plans to charge them were scrapped.

Oxford City Council was planning to recoup some of the £500,000 a year it cost to run the building by introducing charges.

But the council's's strategy and policy committee on Thursday decided not to charge after it emerged this would make just £11,000 a year.

This would mean a 14 per cent increase in income.

The committee decided it needed to look at ways of tapping into the market for conferences and functions.

But councillors felt making a more commercial use of the town hall should not happen at the expense of the community groups which currently use it.

Lord Mayor Maureen Christian (Lab) told the meeting: "The town hall is funded by the people of Oxford. It's paid for by their taxes.

"I think it should be open to community groups without charge. I think this is a basic right of the city of Oxford."

Cllr Gill Sanders (Lab) told the committee chairman Cllr Penwarden: "I think your £11,000 would have cost an awful lot in terms of public discontent."