WHEN David Hunt walks into the first day of his job as manager of the new Rose Hill community centre today he will start putting the finishing touches to the building before it opens next month.

But the 31-year-old has bigger plans for the Ashhurst Way centre, which he wants to become the benchmark for how such community facilities around the country deliver for local people.

Mr Hunt said he was looking forward to the challenge after six-and-a-half years working for Fusion Lifestyle, which runs Oxford City Council’s leisure facilities.

The city council confirmed the £4.76m centre would open in January but could not give an exact date. Mr Hunt said: “There is something exciting about a centre with this amount of money spent on it – taking the job on just felt like a challenge.

“It is part of the revival of the area and it seems really good being able to contribute to that. I want it to be the blueprint for community centres, not just in Oxfordshire but for other areas.”

The centre in Ashhurst Way will replace the existing one in The Oval and will have a new social club, a ballroom and offices for the estate’s advice centre.

It will also provide a new home for Rose Hill junior youth club and will have a café and gym.

Father-of-one Mr Hunt said: “We are still trying to get the local community in and get involved with them.

“It needs to be financially viable but it is also about attracting those target groups to the centre – not just people from Rose Hill but from other areas.”

Mr Hunt, from Didcot, said for all the mod cons of the new building it was important for him to focus on what people could get out of it.

He said: “It is all about making sure that everything it does is the best, from the cleanliness to the customer service to making sure the outcomes are the best for the local community.”

Richard O Smith, who lives in Rivermead Road, said he was glad the Rose Hill estate would benefit from the centre.

The 51-year-old said: “ As other parts of Oxford get more colonised by the two universities it can be hard to afford to buy homes, so a lot of people who work in important industries live in Rose Hill.”

Desborough Crescent resident Margaret Smith, who plays bingo at the existing centre, said she was looking forward to the new one opening.

The 80-year-old added: “I hope to keep going over for bingo and it will be good to be able to rent the rooms for parties.”