WHILE Hampshire County Council's commitment to build a new library in Alton has been widely welcomed, the plan itself has come in for fierce criticism.

After years of campaigning by local people for a replacement for the existing 1950s style Nissen hut, local councillors are among those who believe the new library building should be right for the town.

At last week's meeting, members of Alton Town Council's planning and transportation committee advised that the architects go "back to the drawing board" and come up with "a more traditional design which would better complement the surroundings."

Given the prominence of the site, at the centre of the Alton conservation area and close to St Lawrence Church, the overall feeling was that the proposed building would do nothing to enhance the character of the area.

"No proposal could be more inappropriate, both in terms of design and materials," said acting town clerk Greg Burt, who sought to highlight in particular the "overbearing blank slab frontage and mixtures of copper and aluminium" to be used in construction.

The aim of the plan is to replace the temporary structure with a three-storey building on part of the site closest to the High Street and housing on the rest to offset part of the cost.

However, while recognising that the proposed facilities will be a great improvement, the committee felt they did not do justice to the length of time the town had been waiting nor to what will be "one of the most important public buildings" to be provided in the town.

Members felt the capacity of the public areas of the library were considerably less than they had been led to expect and their disappointment in the design was palpable.

In addition, while conscious that recent government planning guidance has reduced the amount of parking required for new development, particularly in town centres, the complete absence of parking for either staff or customers they felt to be "naive in the extreme".

With a public car park opposite the site, the intention is to promote HCC's transport policy and to develop a green travel plan for the library.

Proposals will attempt to deter vehicular traffic to the site and cater more for pedestrians, cyclists and those with walking aids. There will be just three on-site car parking bays and a dedicated layby to service the library and provide level access for disabled users.

There is no requirement or provision for a mobile library within the new proposals - the existing facility is to be relocated.

Backed by an estimate of transport produced by senior librarian Gordon Frater, and divisional librarian Paul Dix, based on current library usage, which reveals that 55 per cent of users arrive by car, councillors found the lack of parking provision to be unrealistic.

They that HCC will listen and come up with a revised plan.

p Proposed housing provision on the site is to be the subject of a separate application to East Hampshire District Council.