VOLUNTEERS are being sought to create a website for Botley neighbours.

It is hoped the website could be up and running by the end of the year to offer news, details of events and a discussion forum.

David Kay, 50, of Poplar Road, came up with the idea.

He said: “It does get a lot of people involved in community matters. It makes an area more of a community rather than just an area people live in.

“And it would give the people in the community a one-stop shop for finding information about what is around.”

Issues such as abandoned plans to cut funding for Botley Library and redevelopment of the West Way shopping centre had galvanised public interest, he said.

But he added: “Other than these major issues you don’t get enough people feeling they’re involved.”

Mr Kay said the site would cost £100 to design and set up and be maintained by volunteers.

About six helpers are being sought to get it started.

Mr Kay said he was also keen to work with the local monthly newsletter The Sprout.

He added: “Operating a community website in tandem will enable us to achieve much more in terms of interactivity, speed of news circulation and the sheer quantity of information and images that we will be able to make available.

“The range of topics we could cover is immense. This is a major opportunity for community members to get involved and tell us what they want.”

Ag MacKeith, editor of The Sprout, said: “I am happy to talk to them about it and I am interested in what they have to say. There are some bits of The Sprout that it wouldn’t be a bad idea to put on there.”

Janet Godden, Oxfordshire County Council member for North Hinksey and Wytham, welcomed the idea.

She said: “This is quite a spreading, large community and it is hard for people to know what is going on.

“When people come to live here they have no idea where the main sites of interest are.

“It is good we have some people willing to do it and who seem to have thought this whole idea through.”

To get involved in the project, email botleyhinksey@ hotmail.co.uk