Wallingford town councillors found themselves in a dilemma over plans to build homes on the edge of the town.

They had been asked by South Oxfordshire District Council to comment on plans for the Winterbrook area.

The plans proposed demolishing buildings behind 6 Winterbrook and Winterbrook Close and replacing them with five linked courtyard homes.

Wallingford councillors oppose the plans. But although the land is on the Wallingford side of the town's bypass, it is actually in the parish of Cholsey and does not come under the jurisdiction of the town council -- meaning they are not able to formally object.

Mayor Betty Atkins said: "Houses there would mean Cholsey getting the council tax and us getting the problems."

Deputy mayor Pat Granados said: "We wanted that land included in Wallingford's boundaries but we were not supported by the district council.

"We knew it would lead to dilemmas like this.

"Cholsey will get the money but the people living there will be using our services, our schools, our doctors, our shops and our facilities."

The town council is telling the district council it cannot make formal comments as the land is not in its parish.

But the district will also be told that if Wallingford could have commented, it would have opposed the plans -- no-one at the council meeting was in favour of them.