HUNDREDS of Alton residents have had their say on plans for a new community centre on the former Molson Coors brewery site.

An online survey and four public engagement events gave people the chance to say what they felt was the best use of the land, which has been earmarked for community use.

In total, 650 surveys were returned to East Hampshire District Council (EHDC) and Alton Town Council who joined forces to conduct the exercise. The results will now be analysed and simplified into a handful of options which will be put to a public vote.

The top choice will then be formally confirmed to Cala Homes, which has the option to develop the site.

The development brief for the Turk Street site is for mixed use, predominantly housing but with a hotel, residential care home and business space, with one of the key criteria being a linear park, providing a green recreational space on either side of the River Wey. The culvert currently covering the river will be opened up and there will be a river walk through the centre of the development to link the station and Kings Pond, following the river through the town and via Flood Meadows to its source at Willhall Farm.

Also included is a near half-acre plot on which to build a facility which could take the form of a replacement community centre or a smaller hub to be used as an addition to the existing centre.

In thanking everyone who took the time to attend the public engagement events and fill out the online survey, Guy Shepherd, EHDC’s portfolio holder for regeneration, said: “There are clearly strong feelings about the provision of community facilities in Alton and about the future of this site. That’s great news for EHDC and Alton Town Council because it will help us get a really clear idea of what people want early in the process.”

Alton mayor Dean Philips added: “We would like to thank Altonians for positively engaging with this process. We will now carefully look at all the responses and suggestions to investigate their viability and deliverability before going forward to the next stage.”

The town’s key groups and organisations will formulate public options which will be posted to households in Alton by the end of June.