A REDUCED cost plan for Trowbridge Town Hall was unveiled to residents at a public forum on Monday.

Plan B will cost around £300,000 less than the original £2.7m scheme and will see office space in Market Street redeveloped into Trowbridge Town Council headquarters, instead of a mezzanine floor built within the town hall itself.

The forum, chaired by Marco Polledri at the Civic Hall, was held to present an architectural survey and feasibility study of the building but also to unveil the cheaper Plan B.

The multi-million pound plan to revamp the town hall has been dogged with controversy after the town council originally voted to raise the precept by 87 per cent. After a public outcry a 48 per cent increase was agreed, netting £375,000 towards the hall redevelopment.

Surveys undertaken by BBA Architects found the building would need to have around £160 180,000 spent on it just to bring it up to a standard fit for redevelopment. The initial plan involved incorporating town council offices, a register office, cafe and venue for special events, costing in the region of £2.7m.

There would also be a glass core housing an elevator and staircase providing disabled access to all floors. Plan B would cost £2.4m and would see a similar development but the town council would switch to office space above JD Wetherspoons, in Market Street, which would be joined to the town hall via a walkway.

Funding options are still being considered but include the hall being turned into a charity or trust with an independent board overseeing its running, raising money through loans, using money from the sale of the Civic Hall and raising the precept further.

To qualify for a Heritage Lottery Fund grant the town council would need to raise half the amount they need first before the lottery will match it. If the town council take over the building for a nominal £1 fee from Wiltshire County Council, in addition to the redevelopment costs it would have to fund a running cost of around £92,500 a year (under Plan B).

At the public forum concerns were raised over how the plan was to be funded, whether the fire escapes would be accessible for disabled people and over access routes to the sensory garden at the back of the hall.

Cllr Jeff Osborn objected to the town council taking over the town hall in any capacity. He said: "I believe that the scope of this project is beyond the capacity of the town council. "At the end of the day the town council is a parish council.

"My view is that the building should be a commercial development." He also questioned the future of the Civic Hall, which he said was a more usable venue. Lance Allan, town clerk, said the town council would now be preparing a business plan to look into the development further.

The council argues that because it is paying £10,000 a year in rent for their current offices in Fore Street moving to the town hall would make financial sense. Cllr Malcolm Rosier has created a weblog for the public to discuss the issue of the town hall and the increase in council tax on www.townhallfolly.com There will also be a public meeting chaired by Andrew Murrison MP on Tuesday at 7.30pm, in the Civic Hall, which all Trowbridge residents and town councillors have been invited to.