BASINGSTOKE council's vision for the future of the town centre is set to be approved by the Cabinet - although it has been revealed that a public consultation exercise only produced 53 responses.

It was back in May that The Gazette exclusively revealed the suggestions in the council's consultation document on its draft vision for the possible future of the town.

These include: - mproving New Road's image by building blocks of shops, offices and flats along its length - turning surface car parks into multi-storeys - giving The Malls a new public face by building shops and offices each side of the entrance - creating a whole new neighbourhood along Churchill Way West - building houses and commercial premises on the north side of historic Cross Street.

The document then went out to public consultation for eight weeks.

In total, only 53 responses were received. However, an agenda paper for the Cabinet, which meets tomorrow, said: "This level of response compares favourably for public consultations on matters of planning policy."

Ninety three per cent of those who responded were either very supportive or generally supportive of the council taking a long-term look at the future of the town centre - 96 per cent approved the plans for New Road, 76 per cent backed the car park proposals, 95 per cent were for giving The Malls a new face, 74 per cent supported the idea of a new neighbourhood along Churchill Way West, and 71 per cent backed the plan to restore the north side of Cross Street.

Several minor amendments have been included in the document, following the consultation.

The Cabinet is asked to approve the amended document, and refer it as an action plan to full council for adoption as supplementary planning guidance and new council policy.

Council leader Cllr Rob Donnelly said: "It is essential for Basingstoke that we continue to plan that central area sensibly. There are some areas which seem unfinished even now, 40 years after it was first developed.

"There have been a couple of negative comments, but for the most part our plans have been welcomed by the community and we're delighted about that."