COMMUNITY centres across Oxford have been asked to close in line with the government's coronavirus lockdown.

Oxford City Council has shut down its community centres and has advised others in the city, managed by other organisations, to do the same.

 

Essential services housed in the centres, such as community larders and food banks, will continue to operate.

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Hundreds of families use facilities and attend classes and clubs there, but the measures have been deemed necessary to meet the government's strict new rules on social distancing.

The city council says it is looking at what financial support might be available, including from the government, to ensure that the centres are able to cover essential costs and staff overheads while they are closed.

To ensure that the needs of the city’s most vulnerable communities are still met, the council and the Oxford Hub are working together to create new Locality Resource Hubs in Oxford to tackle the challenges of the coronavirus outbreak.

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Councillor Marie Tidball, Cabinet Member for Supporting Local Communities, said: "It is clear that we need to do all we can to support people to stay at home and prevent the spread of this virus.

"We are working remotely with community associations to see how they can be involved in our city-wide response to the coronavirus pandemic.

"We have had a fantastic response from our community centres and community groups offering their support to vulnerable residents, and I’d like to thank them for their swift reaction.

"We’re working with Oxford Hub to co-ordinate support and volunteers, and we’ll be directing all the organisations that have come forward to the Locality Resource Hubs so that we make best use of their offers of help.

"By drawing together Council and voluntary resources we can make sure we’re not duplicating work and that we have covered all the essentials. The Locality Resource Hubs will begin operating this week."

More information about the hubs will be released in due course.

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The community centres in Oxford, listed on the council's website, are:

  • Barton Neighbourhood Centre
  • Blackbird Leys Community Centre
  • Bullingdon Community Centre
  • Cheney Community Centre
  • Cutteslowe Community Centre
  • Donnington Community Centre
  • East Oxford Community Centre
  • East Oxford Games Hall
  • Florence Park Community Centre
  • Headington Community Centre
  • Jericho St Barnabas Community Centre
  • Jubilee 77 Community Centre
  • Littlemore Community Centre
  • North Oxford Community Centre
  • Northway Community Centre
  • Northway Sports Centre
  • Regal Community Centre
  • Risinghurst Community Centre
  • Rose Hill Community Centre
  • South Oxford Community Centre