HOPES are rising that two popular Didcot parks could be brought back to life with a major revamp.

At the annual town meeting last week, it was announced the council had allocated £400,000 to be spent on upgrading facilities at Edmonds Park and Loyd Recreation Area.

Councillor and chairman of the finance and purpose committee Simon Clarke said they were in the process of 'finessing designs' with the architect.

He said: "When we were looking at the budget for this year it was quite obvious that the town council had saved up enough money over the years to be able to have a sufficient reserve.

"I cannot tell you how much it is going to cost because we have not finalised the designs, but we are going to start the ball rolling.

"We would like to do it as soon as possible."

Last summer, drawings of a potential new pavilion for Edmonds Park, complete with dry and muddy access route direct to the changing rooms, and a separate toilet block, were made public as part of a consultation.

But these plans have now been scrapped after £4m was spent on Boundary Park,

Mr Clarke says the council would be in favour of a more modest design for the other two sites rather than replicating Boundary Park three times.

He added: "We are looking to replace the current facilities but with just an updated version of what we have got.

"It is possible we will have one design of building in both parks.

"If you have got one design, then it brings the cost down.

"We do not need a pavilion on the size and scale that has just recently opened at Boundary Park."

Leader of the town council Bill Service was cautious about promising the new upgrades, despite setting aside the pot of money.

He said: "From the town council's point of view we have put that money aside with the hope it will generate funds from elsewhere.

"We do hope we can get some match funding from the district council's capital projects fund and its community investment funds.

"Without raising expectations we have put £400,000 aside in the hope that we can double that from funding from grant schemes."

The last time any funding was splashed out on Edmonds Park was about six years ago when the town council committed £4,000 for new showers.

Mr Service added: "They were not the most industrial of showers, they were more like ones you would find in someone's home.

"When we have the match funding money we can then replace the facilities.

"If we are not able to get the funding then the projects will remain on hold."

However, town councillor Margaret Davies believes the well intentioned plans to revamp the 'disgusting' facilities were not properly financed.

She said: "They have not put the money aside, that was always there, they have just put a label on it.

"It has been there for about six years.

"I was leader at the time and it was going to help the Haddon Hill site.

"It is not enough money for both projects."

Ms Davies said for years the facilities had been plagued with faults in the electric and water systems and that the town council would have to start from scratch and demolish the buildings.

She added: "The pavilion at Edmonds Park is at the end of its life.

"It is not of high enough quality for what the public requires these days.

"But nothing is happening on that Edmonds Park project, there are no plans drawn up.

"I think they are running out of time, they have not got the money in place."