A scheme to install an automatic remote control concierge system in four Oxford tower blocks to deter crime has been deferred for further consultation.

Oxford City Council's housing committee had been asked to approve the spending of £100,000 this year for start-up costs at the four blocks in Marston, Wood Farm and Blackbird Leys including CCTV cameras and cabling, with work starting this month.

But they voted to consult further all 450 residents in the towers after receiving a letter from tower block resident Jenny Clamp which said tenants felt that they had not had enough say.

A report to the committee said both an electronic scheme and the more traditional "man at a desk" model had been considered and, after consultation with tenant representatives and council officers, the electronic method was chosen.

Phase One of the scheme was to have involved increasing the number of cameras in entrance areas and lifts and linking them to a remote station where they would be monitored on a 24-hour basis.

It would also have included an upgrading of existing lighting.

Phase Two would have included upgrading existing door entry equipment to provide two-way speech between the door and the remote concierge and two-way speech between the flats and the concierge.

The report, by the council's director of housing and revenues, David Magor, added: "The premise of the scheme is to protect and enhance life for some communities in Oxford which are currently disadvantaged by their location."

Cllr Val Smith said: "I am very concerned that the tenants don't seem to be wholeheartedly behind us, and if they are not 100 per cent behind us, it's not going to work.

"We feel that probably what we need to do is have some more discussion about how it's going to work."

The committee voted unanimously to reconsider these schemes and consult further with all tenants.