Householders will be asked to change front doors, remove satellite dishes and replace walls and fences with hedges as part of a plan to restore Edwardian-style railway cottages in Didcot town centre.

But South Oxfordshire District Council hopes draft proposals by conservation officer Nick Doggett will not be as controversial as they seem.

In an effort to return 25 homes in Station Road to their original character, Mr Doggett does not expect householders to meet the bill for the work, which will cost thousands of pounds.

The district council has an environmental improvements budget and Mr Doggett told the Oxford Mail: "I hope the town council and South Oxfordshire Housing Association will work together to achieve the improvements."

Approximately half the homes, built by the old Great Western Railway in 1904, are now privately owned. The rest are owned by the housing association.

The properties, seen as an historic part of Didcot's railway heritage, were built of blue engineering brick with slate roofs and stepped roof lines to reflect the slope of Station Road.

In an attempt to preserve their historic character, the district council designated part of Station Road a Conservation Area in 1982.

Tony Moon, who lives in one of the houses, said: "It has a porch that was enclosed by my parents. But I would be sympathetic to modifying it and changing the colour scheme of the house if the council will bear the cost."

None of the householders has been given details of the draft report. But some who believe the changes could improve their properties said they might back the district council if it or SOHA paid the cost of the work.

Meanwhile, Didcot Town Council will discuss the draft report at its next meeting on September 10, and the district council is to arrange a meeting of all the householders.