TEMPERS flared at a public meeting to discuss the way ahead for the regeneration of Southampton's St Mary's district.

The city council called the meeting to present a new document which sets out ideas for regenerating the area until 2008 and beyond.

The document - the St Mary's Design and Development Framework - has been drawn up because the inner city regeneration programme, funded by government cash, is coming to an end in March.

City council regeneration officer Adam Brannen said the framework is now going out to public consultation and, after any changes, will be adopted as guidance by Seeda (the South East England Development Agency), the council, a new community development trust for the area and a neighbourhood partnership.

But angry residents criticised the council for not publicising the meeting in James Street Church Hall - which only attracted a handful of people - properly.

Mr Brannen promised to look into publicising the consultation better.

He said: "This document really needs to be signed up to by you, the people who live here and work here."

He outlined the improvements to the area so far, including shop front makeovers, new housing, the St Mary's stadium, the Travel Inn hotel, offices, Old Northam Road scheme and Kingsland Square.

The document outlines possible future projects including housing on the Old Northam Road car park site, more homes on the Deanery site, using Chantry Hall as a community arts centre, improving the city college campus, diversifying Kingsland market to hold farmers' markets and antiques fairs, and putting in CCTV.

Other ideas include putting a "hoppa" bus service through St Mary Street, opening up the St Mary's School fields to the community, reinstating the traders' association and setting up a St Mary's website.

Mr Brannen said: "The key thing in making this happen is sources of funding. The framework identifies ways we can access funding because there are other sources like government and charitable agencies."

Dave Newman, 61, of Golden Grove, said: "You're making it all very pretty in the high profile areas but you're forgetting about the estates.

"You say about the market as an improvement but we consider you've ripped the guts out of the market."

Richard Hazelton, who used to run a shop in St Mary Street, asked: "How are you going to convince us you're really going to take into account neighbourhood views when you didn't last time?"

A woman resident added: "I think we need those CCTV cameras because it's really bad around this area with the kids."