A NEW plan for the redevelopment of Malmesbury Town Hall was unveiled to town councillors on Tuesday.

Two previous schemes were dismissed as financially unviable, but the latest plan is to make the building in Cross Hayes more user friendly and able to meet new access legislation.

Ian Pollard, who has spearheaded the redevelopment said: "The original presentation was keeping all the primary walls of the building, redoing the inside and putting in an underground car park. That has fallen by the wayside because of objections from English Heritage.

"Option two was to accommodate the requirements of English Heritage which ensured that we kept the ceiling above the Oxford Room and Hobbs Rooms.

"The latest scheme would be to tart up the building as best we can to make the building more user friendly."

Architect Ed Seymour told councillors: "We have retained what we are required to by English Heritage but the idea of bringing the library into the scheme has been abandoned.

"We now have a main entrance at the Tourist Information area. A museum lies beyond that in the space which is presently occupied by Wiltshire College, and we would knock through between the ground floor of the town hall and the 1924 building so the whole space becomes an open plan area."

Mr Seymour said the ground floor would have a sliding door to make separate areas for activities such as drama productions.

New toilets and a kitchen would be included, but the toilets would also be used by the public. There would be larger lifts and 11 parking spaces would be added.

Mr Seymour said a suspended floor would be added to overcome different levels on the first floor.

The cost of the scheme has not yet been made public.

Coun Charles Vernon said a new- look hall should attract more people to use the building and generate more money towards running costs.