A LEADING charity has taken legal action against civic chiefs over the future of its store in Winchester High Street.

Oxfam launched a civil case against Winchester City Council after negotiations stalled over a new lease for its store near The Broadway.

Officials on both sides declined to discuss details of the case but Howard Bone, the council’s head of legal, said the lease’s length is not part of the dispute.

The 19th-century building is set to be bulldozed as part of the £165 million Silver Hill scheme because developer Henderson wants to widen the medieval Cross Keys Passage and boost footfall to its new retail quarter.

Mr Bone added that he hoped to keep negotiations out of court by reaching an agreement in the next few weeks.