‘Phallic’ and ‘a tapering Toblerone’ are just some of the descriptions applied to the design of an £850,000 bridge that could span the River Avon from the £35m Kingston Mill development in Bradford on Avon.

Residents and stakeholders expressed mixed views about the plans for the suspension bridge design, with its 22ft mast, at a public meeting in St Margaret’s Hall on Wednesday night.

Patricia Martin, 78, who lives off Frome Road, said: “I think we need a bridge there definitely because it is a nightmare crossing the main town bridge.

“I worry about how they are going to have both cyclists and pedestrians using the same bridge.”

The meeting was part of a week-long consultation which includes a display in the library. One end of the bridge will be outside the library on Bridge Street.

Marilyn Maundrell, 72, of Elmscross Drive, went into the meeting saying she needed to be persuaded about the design, as she didn’t like the idea of mixing modern with old in Bradford on Avon.

However after seeing the plans she said: “Take back what I said; I think the bridge looks absolutely brilliant and it is very well blended in.”

The new bridge will be made out of Corten, the steel used to make the Angel of the North, with stainless steel handrails.

So far the footbridge working committee has raised £250,000 towards the costs, with the rest to be raised through grants and fundraising events. The costs, the height of the mast and access to the bridge were just some of the issues raised at the meeting.

Linden Homes, the developers for the Kingston Mill complex, have named the 170-home estate they are building The Willats, after the late Dr John Willats who created the town’s Millennium statue. Known as Millie, it features a sculpture of a mill girl releasing a dove.