NEW proposals that seek to transform Alton’s former magistrates’ court and now empty police station with retirement housing and a tea room have failed to impress The Alton Society, which has some “serious concerns” over the design.

The redevelopment bid is being brought forward by specialist retirement housing developer and operator Renaissance Retirement, which secured an interest in the site following a competitive tender process.

The early plans would see the building demolished and replaced with a scheme of 54 one and two-bedroom sheltered apartments with dedicated on-site parking.

Despite reservations over the proliferation of retirement accommodation in the town, The Alton Society had accepted the proposal as “an appropriate re-use of the site”. But having attended a public open session at the Alton House Hotel on June 15, members were “disappointed” over the proposed styling, which they described as “a pastiche” of the Victorian Gothic Assembly Rooms, preferring the creation of “something fresh and new” which would better suit the site.

Located as it is at the gateway to the north-eastern end of the town centre and standing on a busy corner site, Society members believe there is an opportunity to design a landmark building to improve the road environment while protecting future residents from the impact of the roundabout and adjoining road network.

In its response to the proposal, the Society flags up in particular the “large number of single-aspect flats that only have north-facing windows, that in themselves serve rooms that are very deep and consequently will be very dark”.

A spokesman continued: “The north elevation onto the roundabout presents a full height three-and-a-half storey bulk that sits right onto the edge of the pavement that is a significantly larger scale than the buildings that surround it.”

Members question how this will present itself on the street scene and how it will protect the amenity of the residents, particularly at ground-floor level.

Furthermore, there are, according to the Society, “some flats that sit above the parking with an outlook only onto the car park, or the rear of the building to the west of the car park, which appear to be a blatant attempt to get bigger numbers of units on the site”.

And while there appear to be “awkward little bits of green” there are not, say the Society, enough “sufficiently developed areas of external space” for the benefit and well-being of future residents.

The Society questions why there is a café.

“It is not a particularly attractive corner and there are not sufficient attempts to make an attractive urban space in this area to encourage anyone to go and sit there, at the extreme end of the High Street, without a significant anchor to draw people there,” the spokesman said.

The Society suggests a modest reduction in the mass and scale of the building, achieved by a 10 per cent reduction in the number of flats and an increase in parking provision and external recreational space.

“There are many ways to significantly improve this proposal… and to develop a form, scale and typology that would contribute positively to the town. Otherwise, this is a missed opportunity.”