A CHURCH is to take charge of a loss-making Witney public hall.

West Witney Community Church will take over the day-to-day running of Burwell Hall in Thorney Leys from the town council in June.

It lost the council £37,017 last year. The authority will give the church £10,000, £7,500 and £5,000 grants to help with running costs for the first three years.

The hall is used by community groups for activities including dance classes, bridge nights and parenting groups.

Church leader Jason Huffadine said the move was a good example of Prime Minister and Witney MP David Cameron’s Big Society initiative, which urges community groups to run services.

He said: “It’s about the community doing something for the community, and that’s at the heart of the Big Society. We want to build more of a sense of community, so there’s more community cohesion and people feel part of something.”

While the council will still own the hall, the church will look after its internal maintenance and bookings.

The council will still pay about £7,000 a year for external maintenance and a loan which paid for the building of the hall.

Roger Curry, chairman of the council’s public halls committee, said: “We just felt the council running it was the wrong way to do it, and was a very expensive way of doing it. The community didn’t feel involved or committed.”

Meanwhile, a new hall built as part of a housing development in the town has been handed to a trust.

The Madley Park Hall Trust will run the Northfields Farm Lane hall, which will be owned by the council.

The £900,000 building has not yet opened because of a dispute with builders Beam Construction.

It will receive a £15,000 grant from the council in the first year, £10,000 in the second and £5,000 in the third.