Members of Faringdon Community Theatre have broken their ties with the Faringdon Community Association.

The move comes, in the words of committee member and spokesman Peter Webster, "in the realisation that we had to do something positive after putting up with the unpleasant and obstructive atmosphere at the Community Centre, or there was a danger of the group breaking up".

The players are to reconstitute themselves as the Faringdon Dramatic Society. Plans are being made to mount their next production, a pantomime, at the Com Exchange.

It means they will be abandoning the purpose-built theatre at the Community Centre - leaving behind all the lighting and other equipment that goes with it. The deteriorating relationship between the theatre group and the Association to which it has been aligned for several years, was highlighted in the April edition of the Folly, following the cancellation of the current production in mid-rehearsal. At a subsequent special meeting, members voted 23-5 in a secret ballot to "go independent". But Mr Webster stressed that move to the Com Exchange was seen as a temporary situation, which could be altered "if the situation improves". There was unanimous backing to return to the community theatre as an independent hirer, in those circumstances.

It has been revealed that at least ten members were no longer prepared to "set foot" in the theatre under the Centre's present management regime. Mr Webster said the group had received no reply to a letter of complaint sent to the Association's Chairman, Andrew McGaw, prior to the special meeting. The letter arose out of allegations that the group was refused access to the theatre and denied a rehearsal room.

After the frustrations were aired in an information sheet for members earlier this year, the Centre's manager, Mick Ledbury, had written saying that no more dates would be offered and there would be no more drama activity until the 'problem' had been sorted out.

In a separate development, the Mayor of Faringdon, Margaret Broughton, has offered to meet with Mr McGaw and the Chairman of the theatre group, Beryl Rees, to try and mediate.

As the Community Theatre, the Group handed over all its income to the Community Association, and so now has to start raising funds of its own for lighting, etc. Although most of the equipment in the theatre is owned by the Association, some items including curtaining, scenery materials and some costumes came as direct gifts from benefactors and may be claimed by the Society.

Mr Webster said that the demands of mounting a production at the Corn Exchange were being treated as a challenge. "We will have to change our approach, but not our standards," he said.

The Dramatic Society will be contributing to a one-act play festival at Wantage in June, and a number of members are taking part in the top-rated Arcadians production at Quenington, Gloucestershire, in August, which is to go on tour to Royal Sandringham.