An ecology centre is set to be established by West Oxford Community Renewables (WOCR) on a sports ground currently owned by Corpus Christi College in Oxford.

WOCR has reached a deal with the institution that will see it lease the land for a nominal one jar of honey per year from summer 2010, enabling a new centre of excellence for sustainable living to be created. A number of projects have been set out by the organisation that aim to improve the carbon output of the area, including a community orchard, vegetable growing and increasing the number of bees.

The installation of a solar power system and a small wind turbine are also being considered, while the pavilion is set to be used to provide a centre to train other communities to run their own projects. A WOCR spokesperson said: "We are keen for this to be a joint project with local residents from Grandpont as well as West Oxford."