A PROMINENT Petersfield resident this week voiced her 'absolute horror' at plans to improve the Square and town centre.
Life-long resident and founder member of the Area Historical Society, Mary Ray, criticised the county council-led scheme at the annual town meeting on Monday.
It has been announced that enhancement work in The Square will begin in late summer or early autumn this year.
Improvements in the High Street are due to start early next year, and the introduction of a 20 mph speed limit in the centre of the town will be brought in when this work is complete
But on Monday Mrs Ray slammed Hampshire County Council's proposals for the Square, which she said had clearly been produced by people who did not live in Petersfield or use one of its greatest assets.
She was voicing the concerns of many other residents at the meeting.
The moves follow the completion of the Petersfield Area Transport Study, which was carried out by Hampshire County Council in partnership with East Hampshire district and Petersfield town councils.
The study aimed to make the town centre safer by reducing speed, bringing in new safety measures and deterring unwanted traffic in The Square, High Street and other town centre roads.
But Mrs Ray told councillors: "The proposals fill me with absolute horror, they have obviously been produced by people who do not live and use one of the town's major assets."
She said Lloyds Bank needed its access to be clear and respected. Space was also needed by bus passengers, both waiting and arriving.
Many charities used space in front of Lloyd's Bank for fund- raising stalls and this would be lost, claimed Mrs Ray, along with restricted vehicular access to the bank and other adjacent properties.
She said that the pavement should not be widened along the north side of the Square: "The carriageway is only just wide enough anyway and cyclists can get squeezed to the very edge."
Mrs Ray claimed there should be two carriageways on the west side and all round the Square.
"A good number of vehicles pause in the Square to catch the post. With only one carriageway a blockage will be caused.
"Also, during the day," added Mrs Ray, "elderly and disabled people are dropped off by cars to visit the Post Office and the bank - it works now with two carriageways but will cause more blockages with only one."
The south side of the Square should remain as it is now, stressed Mrs Ray.
"It was sorted out at the silver jubilee and does not need any clutter," she said.
The railings in particular, she said, were a valuable reminder of the market, where bulls and steers were tied up.
The Christmas lights team also needed the railings for their festive decorations.
"This area between the roadway and the church is used by market stalls, charities and touring official information lorries. Weddings and funerals mean cars and hearses and two carriageways are needed to save inconvenience to other highway users," claimed Mrs Ray.
It was important for the entrance to the church to be freely accessible and the roadway should remain level and not raised unnecessarily, she said, which would make it difficult for cyclists to negotiate.
And she stressed that the Square did not need more greenery: "This is a market town not twee suburbia."
She said she was wholly against any more expenditure in the Square.
George Watkinson, chairman of Petersfield Town Council's planning committee, told Mrs Ray the main objective of the scheme was to reduce the speed of traffic.
He said Hampshire County Council had taken on board the views of local people during the public consultation exercise in the town last May.