MOST of the groups who use Witney’s closed Corn Exchange have found new homes but users have still formed a campaign group to push for the entertainment centre to reopen.

User groups were left in the dark when the arts centre suddenly closed last week, with owners Witney Town Council saying heating and ventilation systems faced “imminent failure”.

All bookings for 2012 have now been cancelled, and town clerk Sharon Groth was unable to say when the Corn Exchange would reopen.

But she pledged that the Market Place venue would not close for good, and said a major overhaul could impr-ove the facilities.

She said: “Hopefully we will be carrying out a public consultation asking what people want from the building.

“The town has expanded significantly over the years, but the Corn Exchange’s last major refurbishment was back in 1978.

“This is an opportunity to take stock and work out what is best for the town.”

Many of the groups which use the Corn Exchange are to be rehoused in Langdale Hall or Witney Methodist Church.

But performance groups are struggling to find alternative venues.

Witney Dramatic Society’s Christmas panto Babes In The Wood will now be staged at Cokethorpe School, and later than planned.

Member Natalie Mullins said: “Although we are extremely grateful to Cokethorpe, it doesn’t take the pressure off the council at all.

“We are still livid.”

Ruth Baigent, founder of Class Act Musical Theatre, said the sudden closure threatened the group’s 10th anniversary performance of The Wizard of Oz in February. Rehearsals, under way since Easter, have been moved to Our Lady’s and St Hugh’s Church, and Class Act is hoping to stage the show in The Henry Box School.

The group is waiting for permission from the musical licensing company to move the dates to half term.

And Mrs Baigent said the town council had told her “not to bank” on being able stage a show at the Corn Exchange in February 2013.

She said: “It has been handled very badly.

“To my mind, they should have called us all together, sat us down, and said what needs to happen.

“At least that way we could have got our heads around it and asked questions.”

Youth theatre group Ab-dabs is also trying to find performance and rehearsal space at the town’s schools.

At a meeting this week, representatives from groups that used the Corn Exchange formed the campaign group Save The Corn Exchange.

They agreed to lobby the town council at its next meeting to find out what was going on.

Debbie Ruth, of Abdabs Youth Theatre, chaired the meeting.

She said: “Closure came completely out of the blue.

“We want to know what the reasoning is behind it and why nobody was told.”