The chairman of a cash-strapped Oxford City Council local area committee has warned it cannot afford to complete all its planned schemes.

The Cowley area committee has less than half the money in its capital and revenue budgets it needs to spend.

Projects include upgrading and repairing play areas in Normandy Crescent, Horspath Road and Cholsey Close; improving car parking areas in Normandy Crescent and Cumberland Road; improvements to Florence Park, and work at Florence Park community centre.

The committee has been asked to prioritise which of nine different schemes it wants to go forward with - and chairman Bryan Keen warned there were "difficult decisions" ahead.

He said: "There's not enough money to do everything and we've got to start prioritising.

"I think we need to see what has been spent in the three wards and if one is lagging behind we will try to even them up."

The total cost of potential projects comes to £236,885 - with £109,441 in the budget.

The £92,205 capital budget is designated for projects to be carried out in the next two financial years.

Pauline Ximines, who lives in Normandy Crescent, and has three children, aged 11, eight and two, said the recreation ground in her road desperately needed improving - at a cost of £47,000.

She said: "The next nearest park is in Horspath Road. But while I would be happy for my oldest to go to Normandy Crescent to play I would not want them trekking all the way to Horspath Road.

"It's important we get the park because there's nothing much there. All there is a slide and some swings.

"There are a lot of parents on the estate who would want to use it if there was more there."

Father Dermot Nolan, from Cholsey Close, said his road's recreation ground needed new swings and rockers, costing £10,475, after the previous rockers were stolen He said: "Cholsey Close is easily accessed from a number of roads without having to cross the road. It's opposite a school so a lot of kids go there after school.

"We don't need a lot of money spent on it but this is a well-used play area. It's just a little bit run down.

"They need to look at the demand and where the kids want to play. That is where they should spend their money."

Florence Park Community Centre needs a new kitchen - costing £15,000. Community association member Ernie White said spending the money would mean the centre could be used much more.

He said: "At the moment we cannot use it for cooking. Having a kitchen would mean we could actually throw open the community centre for functions like curry evenings and wedding receptions, to help the community."

The committee meets on Wednesday.