A LACK of civic-minded volunteers has put a parish council on the brink of being lost for good, its chairman has warned.

Half of the 14 places on the Blackbird Leys parish council are currently empty and chairman Gordon Roper says that any more resignations will mean the council is unable to continue.

Only five councillors were able to attend a meeting on Tuesday night, meaning the legal level of attendees needed to make any decisions was only just met.

Mr Roper, who has served on the council for 19 years, said: "We're at a point now where if only one person gets ill or moves away, we won't be able to do anything.

"We have never had a full contingent in all my years, but we're now down to the bare bones.

"We have tried everything to get people to come forward, but even if they do, we find most don't often last very long."

The 79-year-old community stalwart says that he is considering his long-term future on the council but doesn't feel that he can 'leave a sinking ship'.

The parish council gave out £26,000 in grants to community groups last year and has also led a campaign to sort out the parking issues on the estate.

In recent years councillors have helped to install defibrillators on the estate and a pathway through Spindleberry Park.

Mr Roper says that residents would soon notice if the council was to fold.

He said: "I don't think we get the recognition we deserve.

"It's the little things we do that aren't necessarily always noticeable.

"People ring me up and I raise their issues with the city council and county and we do get things done.

"If we go, people will regret it but we need them to come forward or it'll be too late.

"It's the old adage of use it or lose it."

Other parish councils in Oxford appear to be struggling with the same issue.

Risinghurst and Sandhills Parish Council has 10 vacancies out of 20 councillors, according to the Oxford City Council website.

But Littlemore and Old Marston parish councils report almost full councils.

Alan Stone, the clerk at North Hinksey Parish Council, which also covers Botley, says that his council does not have recruitment issues but has heard that it is a problem in Oxford, and across the county.

Mr Stone, who has done the job for 15 years, says the lack of powers for parish councillors and the fact they are not paid may be some of the reasons people don't put themselves forward.

He said: "The parish council is the place where people always turn to when they have an issue they want resolved.

"But some people take the view that if they are going to get involved, they want to be able to do more things and it can be frustrating.

"If you are going to do it you have to be a particular type of person.

"We’ve actually found that having a large issue like the delayed West Way redevelopment, rallies people around the parish council."