An Oxford community centre is set for a new lease of life thanks to an £80,000 revamp.

Oxford City Council will spend the money to bring Risinghurst Community Centre, in Kiln Lane, up to date.

Michelle Ham, co-chair of the Risinghurst Community Association, said: “I’m really pleased. It’s going to make a huge difference.

“A lot of people use the centre and we have a lot of dance classes there. It will become a much nicer environment for all of them.

“It’s a bit dated at the moment and some people might think it’s not in use.

“Hopefully it will attract more users after it has been refurbished.

“The city council has been really helpful and taken on our views.”

The centre is owned by the council but is managed by the association.

It is made up of two single-storey buildings linked by an entrance foyer.

The first building went up in 1950 and the second was completed in 1959.

The work will include replacing the asbestos roof with a modern insulated roof and installing double-glazed windows.

Extra insulation will be fitted in the wall as part of the drive to improve the building’s energy efficiency, with the aim of cutting heating bills, and the buildings will be redecorated.

The council said the project would increase the lifespan of the building.

The area’s county councillor Roz Smith also sits on Risinghurst and Sandhills Parish Council, which meets at the centre each month.

She said: “I’m excited about the refurbishment and I hope it makes a difference to our heating bills, because they are tremendously high.”

Planning permission for the modernisation work was given by the council’s east area planning committee this week.

Contractors are expected to start work at the centre during the summer.