Oxford's The Cellar music venue hit by fire regulations

The entrance to The Cellar is on Frewin Court, off Oxford's busy Cornmarket Street

An Oxford music venue that survived redevelopment plans remains under threat because its fire escape is not big enough.

The Cellar said it would be restricted to a maximum of 50 tickets for each show because of fire regulations.

Oxfordshire County Council said its escape route was "not adequate".

A previous petition to keep the basement venue open gathered 13,000 signatures and an application to redevelop it was officially withdrawn.

A spokesman for the Frewin Court venue said the news that the fire escape was 30cm [11.8in] too short was "another blow".

He added: "As part of our lease renegotiations a recent fire risk assessment has meant our capacity has been restricted to such an extent that it may severely affect our ability to survive as a live music and club venue.

"We are doing all we can to see what our options are... suffice to say, the incredible events of last year continue to feed our hopes to be able to stay open."

Members of Foals and Glass Animals have described the potential loss of The Cellar as "terrible"

Owner Tim Hopkins, whose family have run The Cellar since the 1980s, told the Oxford Mail: "It's an old building and we can't get around the fact our fire escape isn't wide enough.

"Our fire escape needs to be one metre wide, but that would cost tens of thousands of pounds to do because they are all load-bearing walls."

He said one of the options being looked at was to expand into the empty shop above.

Dave Bray, from the council's fire and rescue service, said: "On inspection, the alternate means of escape from the basement premises was found not be adequate for 150 people.

"After discussions with the licensee and with the licensing authority about the contents of the buildings fire risk assessment, the licensee agreed to limit numbers until the alternate escape route is improved."