Oseney Court, the former old people's home in Oxford, is finally to be sold to a housing association more than a year after its elderly residents moved out.

The home, currently being used to house asylum-seekers, is to be bought by the Newcastle-based Home Group after the county council voted to allow the sale to go ahead.

Officers are negotiating with the organisation and the sale is expected to take place next year.

Home Group will continue to manage Oseney Court as a base for the asylum-seekers until the county council's contract with the Home Office expires next year.

The site will then be turned into social housing.

In August 1999, the county council controversially closed Oseney Court in Botley Road, moving out 38 elderly residents. The building was left empty but cost £250 a day for security guards to ensure it was not occupied by squatters.

Meanwhile, the high cost of housing asylum-seekers in bed and breakfast hotels was rising and the county council decided to use Oseney Court for temporary accommodation to save money and help keep families together.

Six weeks ago, 29 asylum-seekers moved in, looked after by a manager, removing the need for security guards. There are now 46 asylum-seekers living on the site.

Oxfordshire's social services spokesman, Mr Michael Biddulph said: "We closed Oseney Court because of budget cuts. It needed upgrading which was prohibitively expensive. We had to get security guards for the site to stop squatters getting in because we had an expensive court case to get squatters out of the former old people's home, Cutteslowe Court.