New proposals to redevelop Westgate in Oxford have come under fire, with buses once more the sticking point.

A plan to use Worcester Street car park as a temporary turning area for buses was put forward in a complex package of changes to the original scheme.

But Oxford Preservation Trust has criticised both the temporary and long-term public transport solutions, warning that it could blight the Oxford Castle/Prison development.

The new report, drawn up after months of negotiation, addresses the problem of how thousands of extra people can be brought to an enlarged £220m Westgate centre.

Bus companies look to have won their battle for a turning and drop-off point at the heart of the devel- opment.

But it is the prospect of a second, larger bus turning point outside Oxford's new Heritage Centre that has infuriated the preservation trust.

The developer, the Westgate Partnership, says it would only seek to use Worcester Street car park as a temporary turning point only after a permanent solution had been found.

But the trust says it was appalled to find that the creation of a bus turning facility on the site of Macclesfield House is an option now being explored.

Trust director Debbie Dance said: "Macclesfield House is built into the Castle Mound. It is a historic site. The Heritage Centre and the new hotel are just about to open and it would be an appalling lack of vision to use this site immediately outside as a bus turning point.

"Macclesfield House and Worcester Street car park, which we want to see restored as a canal basin, should be pivotal parts of the whole regeneration of the West End of Oxford.

"We really must stop and ask ourselves whether we are all being asked to pay too heavy a price to take buses out of Queen Street. Perhaps the whole issue should be looked at in the context of the redevelopment of the West End.

"Westgate has been a negative factor in Oxford for too long. The new development must bring positive things to the city."

The transport working party report says that a new turning facility north west of Westgate would be needed to allow Queen Street pedestrianisation to go ahead. In addition to Macclesfield House, other options being looked at include using Gloucester Green bus station and allowing buses to turn at the railway station or Frides- wide Square.

City council leader Alex Hollingsworth said: "Progress is being made. The critical thing is that all the options could work."

City council Liberal Democrat group leader John Goddard said: "As far as the turning point in Worcester Street is concerned, how can we be certain temporary is temporary and does not go on for another 30 years?"

David Robertson, the county council's cabinet member for transport, said: "As a result of these proposals we are closer than ever to coming up with plans to make Queen Street free of buses. There is still work to do."

The scheme would involve the demolition and redevelopment of the existing multi-storey and surface car parks, the refurbishment and extension of the Westgate to provide shopping streets and department stores and a replacement multi-storey car park at Abbey Place.