A MUCH-loved community room has been given a temporary reprieve after it emerged the venue could be bulldozed to make way for new council houses.

Vernon House in Bishopthorpe will be reopened after vital repairs and community groups will soon be able to use it again, City of York Council's housing department has confirmed.

The site was closed before Christmas and is still on a shortlist of areas in Bishopthorpe that could be used for new social housing, but ward councillor John Galvin said he was pleased to see the venue open for a short time at least.

He said: "I am delighted that following discussions with officers in the housing department Vernon House will ultimately be reopened after improvements and maintenance works."

The housing department's Tom Brittain confirmed that once the repairs are finished Vernon House will reopen temporarily on a commercial basis, with charges to hire the rooms.

Vernon House was built when Selby council - then responsible for Bishopthorpe - put up the elderly people's bungalows on Maple Avenue with a laundrette and community room for residents. It has been run by the York council ever since they inherited the site in the mid 1990s, and the authority now wants to bring in line with other community centres in York by charging groups which have previously used the rooms for free.

Mr Brittain said: "In the longer term, the council’s cabinet has approved further investigation and consultation into the viability of the site for building new homes, which will include a consultation and assessment of community provision and need. A report on findings will be taken back to cabinet in the summer.”

Cllr Tracey Simpson-Laing, the cabinet member responsible for housing, said that while they understand the value of community facilities like Vernon House, the council could ill-afford to give it a subsidy other venues do not get.

She said: "I’m sure we can agree an option that delivers much needed affordable new homes but which also takes local people’s views into account."