Green councillor Sushila Dhall is seeking a meeting today to help residents whose homes could be demolished by shopping centre developers.

Vincent McKeown, pictured with Christian Pattison, is worried about his home in Abbey Place

Last week, it emerged that city council housing officers had visited residents at 16 flats in Abbey Place, near Paradise Square, where some tenants are disabled and live in specially-adapted homes.

Housing officers alerted tenants that Capital Shopping Centres, which is planning a £220m redevelopment of the Westgate Centre, wants to demolish the block to provide a bus turning circle and new homes.

Ms Dhall, who represents Carfax ward, criticised council officers for asking tenants if they wanted to sign forms, which would transfer them to new homes, before Capital had submitted a formal planning application.

She claimed the council had acted illegally and threatened to refer the matter to the Local Government Ombudsman.

Today Ms Dhall will demand a meeting with Caroline Bull, the city council's chief executive, to seek reassurance that tenants are being treated fairly.

She told the Oxford Mail: "I'm still very unhappy about this because at this stage, when there's no formal planning application from developers, there's absolutely no need to ask tenants to sign transfer forms.

"I'm hoping the chief executive will be able to inform me that housing officers will ring those tenants affected, to inform them that it's not a foregone conclusion that their homes will be demolished.

"If I'm not satisfied with the response I get then contacting the Ombudsman will be the next step. I think the council needs to do everything it can to ensure that it is not perceived to be acting on behalf of the developers."

Christian Pattison, a carer for Abbey Place tenant Vincent McKeown, 51, who has multiple scleroris, said he was continuing to liaise with Ms Dhall.

"I don't think the council behaved properly and it will be interesting to see what happens next. Vincent certainly has no plans to move."

Last week, the city council insisted it had acted responsibly by informing tenants of developers' plans at the earliest possible opportunity, and had not been pressurised by developers.

Capital said it was "fully aware of the sensitive issues" and was liaising with the residents.

Louisa Dean, city council spokesman, said: "We don't want to comment further until after the meeting has taken place."

Capital is planning to triple the amount of floorspace in the shopping centre and councillors are concerned about the limited number of car parking spaces.

Following lengthy talks, it was decided earlier this month that Worcester Street car park should become a bus turning point as a temporary measure.

A formal planning application could be submitted by the end of the year and it is hoped that the new centre will open by 2010.

Oxford Preservation Trust has criticised the latest public transport solutions for the Westgate Centre, fearing they could blight the Oxford Castle development.