The Environment Agency's plan to sell off almost half of the lock keepers' cottages along the River Thames has been put on hold for at least six months.
The plan to sell or rent out 10 properties in Oxfordshire to cut costs prompted widespread concern.
Yesterday the agency said it was delaying a final decision pending a further review, which is expected to take six months.
Lock houses at Godstow, Culham, Wallingford, Sandford-on-Thames, Little Wittenham, Buscot, Shifford, and St Johns were to be rented out, and two houses in Laburnum Road, Botley, and at Rushney near Faringdon, were to be sold.
Richard Thurston, of the Oxford Flood Alliance, said: "The Environment Agency have explained that their staff are not life-savers, but they do provide a very reassuring presence for residents when there is flooding."
Last week, Oxfordshire County Council expressed concern about the plans, warning they would affect the ability of the county's emergency services to rely on lock-keepers at times of flooding.
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