A QUESTION mark hangs over the future of Burton Stone Lane Community Centre, as council bosses start a consultation over the building's uses.

On Thursday, City of York Council's deputy leader will be asked to decide how a £70,000 grant for city's the five community centres should be divided up, but at the same time is likely to launch a review of how the Burton Stone centre is used.

The centre is the only one of York's council-owned community centres which is not run by a volunteer committee, and a report by council staff says that its 1940s and 1960s building is "not fit for purpose".

Although it will stay in the control of the council in the short term, the consultation will look at how the Burton Stone Lane facility is used and what the needs are of the local community before deciding what to do with the site - with the possibility of a redeveloped facility still on the cards according to one senior councillor.

Andrew Waller, an executive member and ward councillor for Westfield, said the replacement of Chapelfields Youth Centre had created a first class facility at Sanderson House.

Meanwhile Burton Stone and the four further centres - Tang Hall and Foxwood Community Centres, Bell Farm Social Hall and Sanderson Community House - are all set to benefit from the £70,000 funding which was put back into the city council budget after the election in May.

The report sets out different options for the money to be used, by dividing it fairly between the five centres, keeping the money at the council to be used for building repairs and maintenance, or a combination of those plans with a "sinking fund" for major repairs in the future, Cllr Aspden said: "This funding will enable us to support community centres to allow them to grow and strengthen their role within their local communities. It will enhance the great work carried out by local volunteers and trustees to build vibrant hubs which residents value."

The decision session takes place on Thursday, December 3 at 4.30pm at West Offices from 4.30pm and is open to members of the public to attend or watch online at www.york.gov.uk/webcasts