An outcry has been sparked by council plans to close Feltham People's Centre in just three weeks without finding a new home for the charity based there.

The decision spells the end of the line for both Feltham Community Association (FCA) and the High Street building, which will probably be razed to make way for a new learning centre runbyWest Thames College.

Deputy leader and Feltham North councillor Mark Bowen said this week: "If this works it will become a truly lasting legacy for the young people of Feltham, helping them gain the skills to find employment and providing a valuable boost to the local economy."

But the proposals have not been welcomed by everyone. Members of the association feel they have been 'muscled' aside after 36 years.

"I'm absolutely disgusted by the way the council has treated us," said FCA secretary David Howell. "They approached us about stepping aside for a skills centre in September but we couldn't believe it when they said they wouldn't be offering us a new home."

The end of the FCA will leave a variety of community organisations, including a youth dance club and Asian women's group, without a meeting place.

Mr Howell added: "We've got just one month to wrap up all the loose ends before we shut the doors for good. Over the past 36 years all the different administrations have put just £15,000 into our association and never paid a penny towards the upkeep of this building.

"Now they've finally found some cash but its just to pay off our debts and get rid of us. I don't want anything more to do with them."

The council has not made a definite decision about the building's future. But architects are busy drawing up plans for the new centre, which would offer vocational courses for around 700 teenage and adult students each year.

College principal Thalia Marriott said: "We are delighted to be working with Hounslow Council which has agreed, in principle, to the use of the high street location for this flagship development.

"The much-needed Feltham Skills Centre - which will, subject to planning permission, replace the existing Skills Centre in Boundaries Road - will serve the training and educational needs of the Feltham community."

When the plans are complete a public consultation will be held before the college applies for planning permission to develop the site.