THE sale of the Territorial Army Centre at the Slade should bring a major windfall for Oxford City Council.

As owner of the huge site in New Headington, the city council stands to receive millions from the transformation of the base into a new Oxford student campus.

However, the Soldiers of Oxfordshire charity has called on the Town Hall to use some of the money to enable historic military documents and artefacts to be safely stored and preserved.

The Ministry of Defence still has 20 years remaining on a long lease. It is hoping the proceeds of the sale will allow it to fund a new TA facility, likely to be at Dalton Barracks, Abingdon.

The MoD's wish to demolish the barracks in Mascall Avenue comes as a surprise double boost to the city council. The site is thought to be worth about £8m and it also delivers an unexpected large brown field site for development within Oxford ring road.

The Soldiers of Oxfordshire (SOFO), however, will be fighting to ensure that some of the money should go towards preserving and displaying important military collections.

At the moment, a small museum at the Slade houses historic collections of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry and the Yeomanry.

Defence Estates, the property arm of the Ministry of Defence, has submitted an outline application to demolish the Slade barracks, which has been home to the TA since the 1950s.

It would make way for a major new student complex consisting of 276 student study rooms, 32 flats and 21 houses. Half the non-student accommodation would be affordable housing.