CONCERNS have been raised over proposals to give Bicester’s Market Square £1m makeover.

Images of three proposals were unveiled for the first time at a public exhibition in Crown Walk yesterday and hundreds of people saw drawings and maps of how the revamp could look.

But residents have raised concerns the town could lose its individuality and that the cash could be better spent elsewhere.

The project is a joint initiative between Cherwell District Council and Oxfordshire County Council, which have pledged £250,000 and £750,000 respectively.

Each option includes new paving and crossing points, street furniture, public art and landscaping, but the development would see parking spaces lost.

Resident Philip Gillard, of Ravencroft, said: “I don’t think there is any benefit to any of the options to be honest.

“In some ways it is a waste of money — the £1m could be spent on something else.”

Another resident Sister Elizabeth Murray, of Kings End, said: “I have seen so many places revamped and they have all ended up glass and concrete.

“I still want to see Bicester when I walk down the street, not the middle of anywhere.”

Lynn Wright, of Bicester Bed Centre, said: “I think on paper it looks really picturesque, but are they practical?

“I don’t think any decision should be made until the other development is complete.”

Project leader Melissa Goodacre said the square’s revamp would coincide with the broader plan to redevelop the town centre.

She said: “We have presented the plans at the feasibility stage so numbers in terms of parking spaces and different uses are flexible. We have explained each option in turn and had a mixed response.”

A final decision is expected to be made by April next year and work is due to start in July 2011 and completed by December.