Keep our 'unique market town charm', was the message from Witney residents at a public meeting about the Marriotts Close development plan.

The hall at Henry Box School, Church Green, Witney, was packed on Monday with 160 people eager to express their views about the proposals for the land off Welch Way. Of these, 80 per cent said they lived in the town.

Six developers have put forward plans for how to use the eight-acre site, which consists of the former Witney Town football ground, an old county council highways depot and a public car park.

The schemes include a mix of shops, houses, restaurants, a multi-screen cinema and a health centre.

People at the meeting told Barry Norton, leader of West Oxfordshire District Council, that they wanted:

A health centre

Not too much housing

Leisure facilities

More green space

Limited and sympathetically designed car parking

Witney's roads and congestion addressed -- but not at the expense of the town's reputation.

Mr Norton said: "We heard lots of different views and we now have pretty clear ideas of what the community is looking for.

"Witney retains its unique market town charm despite growth, unlike many other towns. They want whatever goes there not to spoil that."

Mr Norton said residents were keen to see the design and materials used to be consistent with existing buil- dings.

He added: "In terms of retail, people want it to complement businesses in the town centre and not be something competitive which would see the demise of the High Street.

"They want an increase in the range of shops as opposed to duplicating what is already there."

Cabinet members will discuss the results of the consultation at a meeting on April 20. But Mr Norton said the consultation period could be extended if it meant "getting it right for Witney".

He said: "We are listening very carefully and hopefully we will come up with a scheme everybody will be very pleased with in terms of appearance and complementing the market town."

John Richards, who runs the town's Screen at the Square, has said that he fears his cinema will have to close if the development contained a new cinema.

All six proposals currently do so.

However, Mr Norton said a cinema would not necessarily feature in the development, adding: "Nothing has to be part of anything."

The latest phase of consultation will end on Tuesday.