Morris Motors Athletic and Social Club has announced plans to demolish its 60-year-old clubhouse to make way for a housing development.

Members hope the sale will raise enough money to build a new sports and social club close to the existing building, in Crescent Road, Cowley, Oxford.

The club, established by Lord Nuffield in 1919, was sold to Austin Rover's workers in 1987 and has 3,000 members among staff at Oxford's car and components factories.

Its management committee is seeking planning permission for 11 houses and seven three-storey flats and has employed Headington-based architects, Jewell and Co.

The new social club would be built on the site of the club's disused tennis courts and would have an entrance in Barracks Lane, rather than Crescent Road.

General secretary Chris Moxon said the club decided to press ahead with the plans after a public meeting attended by 69 people in September.

He told the Oxford Mail: "There is sentimental feeling about the club, but this is an ambitious plan and we are trying to be as open as possible with people.

"The clubhouse is 60 years old and in need of refurbishment. We hope the new club will have enhanced facilities and help to increase membership and community involvement."

The two-storey athletic and social club, expected to be sold for a six figure sum, offers a wide range of activities, including weightlifting, squash, martial arts and snooker, as well as a lounge and 400-capacity ballroom.

The 11-man committee does not plan to build on the club's football field and bowling green. Housing was built on a second football field owned by the club after the land was sold to developers in the 1980s.

There are also plans to apply for lottery funding to pay for the new clubhouse.

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