A review of how many garages and parking spaces Wallingford needs should be conducted before further housing developments, it has been suggested.

The idea from town councillor Theresa Jordan followed Soha Housing's plan to knock down several sets of garages near their developments to build more homes.

A spokesman for Soha said the garages were largely unused, alternative parking places had been suggested and Soha's top priority was in providing new homes. The garages at the Soha developments were taken over when South Oxfordshire District Council handed over its council houses to what was South Oxfordshire Housing Association before it became known as Soha Housing.

Mayor Alec Hayton said: "These are very old garages built to take small cars and they cannot accommodate today's larger vehicles." Councillor Jane Titchener said: "You cannot expect Soha to provide parking places in general, they have more important priorities."

The council decided not to object to plans to knock down garages in Radnor Road and to build two flats in a two-storey building.

However, following concerns from residents, the town council is objecting to Soha building two two-bedroomed houses and two three-bedroomed houses on the site of empty garages in Norman Way.

The town councillors said it was an over-development of the site and unneighbourly, and that Soha should reduce the number of houses and provide more parking space.

Ms Jordan said: "The trouble is that we do not know what the real parking problem is in Wallingford, how many more garages are needed and how many more parking spaces are wanted. The town desperately needs a survey of this problem before we agree to any more garages being knocked down."