'It shows that a little bit of community spirit can go a long way. We're only a small section of houses, but we made ourselves heard. People power has won' Benita Osborne People power proved to be a force to be reckoned when tenants objected to paying for plastic.

People living in council houses in Nye Bevan Close and Cosin Close, in East Oxford, were faced with bills of up to £450 to have their brown wooden windows replaced with brown PVC ones.

Outraged by the fact they were being asked to pay, some of them contacted Oxford East MP Andrew Smith, who backed their campaign.

They also called the Oxford Mail - and within a day of us calling the city council, there had been a change of heart and the plan to charge residents for brown windows was dropped.

The council had given tenants the option of having white PVC windows installed for nothing, or paying extra to have mahogany-coloured windows.

Residents of the estate, which is renowned for its tidy appearance, said they would not have been able to afford to pay the extra, and the white windows would have spoiled the character of their streets.

They were also told that if they declined the replacement windows, they would be required to sign a disclaimer accepting that their homes might not reach the decent homes standard.

But Patrick Murray, the city council's executive member for housing, said officers had now reviewed the original decision. He said: "Residents were clearly concerned about this, so I asked council officers if there was anything we could do to take people's views into account.

"I asked the officers to look again at the quotes we had been given and one company came back with a more competitive price.

"It will still cost us more to install brown windows, but we're happy to take on this cost so that it's free of charge to tenants.

"I'm glad we have been able to listen to tenants."

Benita Osborne, of Nye Bevan Close, said: "It's brilliant news. It shows that a little bit of community spirit can go a long way.

"We're only a small section of houses, but we made ourselves heard. People power has won over."

Neighbour Jane Hollely said: "When the estate was built it was a flagship estate, and a real fuss was made about it. We're a close-knit, friendly community who care about what our homes look like."

Mr Smith said: "It just goes to show how we can make a difference to these things.

"Nye Bevan Close and Cosin Close are some of the most attractive examples of social housing in the city."

The council said about 200 properties had windows which required replacing, and it would cost about £45,000 extra for brown rather than white PVC replacements to be installed.