Residents of an Oxford estate are to be consulted on the revamp of a children's centre.

Surestart, in The Oval, Rose Hill, has earmarked £5,000 to draw up plans for the project, which is being coordinated by Oxford Inspires and managed by Cowley-based Fusion Arts.

The centre plans to move its entrance from the side to the front of the building and wants residents to help redesign the new frontage. It hopes the revamp -- which could include children's play equipment and plants -- will encourage people to take pride in their area and combat vandalism.

Local architect Katy Beinhart and artist Rafael Borja, who lives in Asquith Road, Rose Hill, have been commissioned to design the new entrance. In March, they will consult residents and local groups and organisations to find out what they would like to see. They will then come up with a detailed design and costings before additional funding is sought to create it.

Surestart centre manager Patricia Scott said: "The front garden is small and very sadly neglected and there's no way it's useable but, of course, it's the first thing that people see.

"We thought we would consult parents and children about how they would like to see it improved. We want the artists to take people's ideas and incorporate them into a design.

"It's the first part of the centre that people see so it will need to be a very welcoming space."

Mr Borja, who has been working as an artist in the city for five years, said they were looking forward to hearing people's suggestions.

He said: "I want to take people to the site and work with them on the ground to get ideas, then put them all together in my design. "I live here and I'm going to be a user of the centre, so I want to have something beautiful here to bring the community together."

Fusion artistic director Tara Stewart said they were approached by Surestart to take on the project.

She said: "The idea was to do something with an under-used patch of yard in front of the family centre and make it more multi-purpose. We wanted to do something a bit more ambitious and relevant to the community.

"Hopefully it will deter vandalism by making people proud of the area.

"We will be working with local people and groups to find out what they want there."