ALLOTMENTS holders are breathing a sigh of relief after Didcot councillors promised to safeguard the five sites in the town.

The future of the allotments was thrown into doubt after Didcot Town Council launched a "review of its assets" last year, suggesting that sites could be sold off.

But after months of waiting, councillor Bill Service confirmed that the green havens would remain as they are, for now at least.

He said: "For the time being we are not looking at selling the allotment sites.

"I’m unable to say what will happen in the future, but residents should feel assured that the sites will not, at the moment, be put up for sale."

Founder of the Didcot Allotments Action Group, Eileen Bracken, said although the council's reassurance provided some comfort, she was still concerned.

The 69-year-old, who has a plot on New Road, said: "It gives us assurance for the immediate future but we don't know what is going to happen in the long-term.

"It is important that we continue to pressure the council not to sell any of them.

"There are nearly 4,000 allotment holders in Didcot and with only five sites there is always a waiting list for most of them."

The town council said if it did decide to sell the allotment sites, it would have to replace them with new plots.

But Ms Bracken, like many allotment holders, was concerned that those sites would not be in the town, as the majority of green spaces have been earmarked for development.

Ms Bracken, a former police officer, added: "There are a lot of allotment holders who walk to their plots and do not own a vehicle.

"One of the important reasons we want the allotments kept in Didcot is to have green spaces because with the amount of building that is going on in and around Didcot, there are fewer of them.

"With the development for Great Western Park, there are two proposed allotment sites but they are for the residents of the estate."

Despite telling the Didcot Herald in November that the allotment sites "could be worth millions", town council leader Charles Robertson, said this month that the council was committed to providing long-term allotment provision.

He said: "Any organisation should review major assets on a regular basis and to not do so would be negligent.

"I can’t fathom why a thorough review has not been carried out for the past 20 years, but the council will pay close attention to the feedback from the proposed survey and liaise with residents to ensure that the allotment provision in the town is sustainable in the long-term."