Residents on a housing estate have been shocked to hear that developers hope to demolish their homes.

Householders in Barley Close said Linden Homes offered £260,000 for their 1960s four-bedroom, semi-detached houses during a meeting in the town council offices on June 10. The company has applied to South Oxfordshire District Council for permission to buy and demolish six houses and build 22 homes on the site.

The development would be an extension of the Linden Homes development which was put up on the nearby former Pauls Malt site.

But although householders have vowed to stay put, they said property prices were being affected by planning blight.

Speaking for the residents of 9-14 Barley Close, Wendy Hewitt claimed the fact the bid had been made would knock £45,000 off the homes' value. She said: "We said it was unacceptable.

"We didn't think we could find homes similar to our houses in Wallingford for anything near that price.

"We've asked the company to withdraw the application."

Chris Coates, managing director of Linden Homes said the company would negotiate with Barley Close residents if the council was in favour of the development.

He said Linden Homes had no present plans to buy other Barley Close properties.

The application is due to be discussed by South Oxfordshire District Council next month.