PRESSURE was mounting on the Ministry of Defence last night to guarantee downscaled plans for forces’ housing in Carterton were not a “second-best option”.

The Ministry of Defence has slashed its plan to build 780 new homes in the town, and may now rely on renovating hundreds of properties originally earmarked to be bulldozed in 2009.

The Defence Infrastructure Organisation, a branch of the MoD, is set to build just 200 homes in central Carterton.

Last night it said it had taken the decision to make “best use of resources” following 2010’s Strategic Defence and Security Review as it looks to cater for more personnel at RAF Brize Norton.

Royal British Legion member and former family repatriation officer Steve Radband, whose son Lance Corporal David Radband is in the forces, said there should be a guarantee by the MoD that the refurbished housing would be up to scratch.

Mr Radband said: “I hope this isn’t a second-best option.

“Our boys and girls are fighting for Queen and Country.

“They and their families deserve to be living in a decent place, not in squalor.”

The DIO said it would meet the housing needs of service families in the area by using a combination of new-build properties, existing service homes, and refurbished service homes in central Carterton.

It confirmed last year it had demolished 147 properties identified as not fit for purpose.

A spokesman said: “The remaining properties are fit for purpose and their refurbishment is being carefully considered along with other options.

“The MoD has successfully upgraded thousands of service homes across the UK, and any refurbishment scheme in Carterton would aim to bring the properties up to our top standards.

“We believe that a strategy of using existing properties in the surrounding area, building a smaller number of new-build properties and refurbishing existing properties in the immediate area will help us provide the required number of suitable properties.

“While achieving value for money for defence is one consideration, this review is a sensible re-evaluation of our planning following the Strategic Defence and Security Review.”

Plans will not be finalised until April at the earliest.

The move could mean MoD land in the town is freed up for private housing development, and leaves a huge question-mark hanging above housing plans in the area.

West Oxfordshire District Council has been forced to delay agreeing its Local Development Framework, a blueprint for where 4,300 homes will be built across the district until 2026, by three months. About 1,600 homes are earmarked for Carterton.

District council leader Barry Norton said last night: “This has thrown a huge spanner in the works.”

Chris Hargraves, planning policy manager for the council, added: “It’s most likely to have a direct impact on numbers for Carterton and where the numbers for Carterton go.

“That’s what we need to look at – whether the houses will go in the middle of the town, on the edge, or a combination of both.”

In 2008, service accommodation at RAF Brize Norton was criticised after pictures of raw sewage outside damp-stained living quarters were published.

The state of the living quarters was condemned by local people and politicians – including Witney MP and now Prime Minister David Cameron.