Residents: 'We don’t like William Hunter Way images' (From Brentwood Weekly News)

Residents: 'We don’t like William Hunter Way images'

11:35pm Wednesday 1st November 2006

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Brentwood residents have reacted with horror to architectural drawings of the proposed cinema complex in William Hunter Way.

Sally Bushby, of Park Road, said: "Brentwood deserves better. It's a beautiful, historic town and these drawings are completely characterless."

Her husband, Gil, 61, was equally scathing of the plans. He said: "This looks horrendous, worse than any of us could have imagined. It looks like the sort of building you'd get in the Mid-West."

Gerry Bender, 54, of Tower Hill, Brentwood, said: "Anything built in the town centre should be in keeping with the surrounding area, in terms of size, character and scale.

"In no way do these drawings reflect the traditional High Street, nor do they show any of the traffic that will be generated by the complex. The council's own plans are to make William Hunter Way the main thoroughfare for lorries and yet there are no cars or vans in the sketches."

Mr Bender also wanted to know why the developer, Halladale, had been selected for the project, when shops still hadn't been let in the Baytree Centre, which Halladale opened a year ago.

Mike Le-Surf, 42, of Weald Road, who plans to stand for Brentwood North in the next council elections, said: "I think the council are neglecting the views of local residents for financial gain. The further away you live, the better it looks. But that's not much of a way to treat people living nearby, is it? Where's the community spirit in these plans?"

However, Tory councillor Russell Quirk argued the silent majority of people living in Brentwood supported plans for the cinema complex.

He added that producing drawings which were aesthetically pleasing to everyone was not feasible, because individual opinion is based on personal taste.

"You're never going to get an absolute consensus," Mr Quirk remarked. "If you had six designs on the desk, no-one would agree with one specific design."

The drawings are on display in the Baytree Centre this Friday, from 6pm to 8pm.

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