NEWS it could take a £15m injection of public money to kick-start the Vision for Trowbridge poured cold water on the project at its grand unveiling.

Executive documents were handed out to civic leaders at a meeting on Tuesday, with proposals meeting a mixture of enthusiasm and scepticism.

One stumbling block could be a potential cash crisis in Wiltshire County Council's capital spend budget, coupled with a tightening of the purse strings at West Wiltshire District Council.

A worst-case scenario could mean a complete freeze on the county council's capital spending in the next financial year.

With Vision leaders calling for local authorities to make the first move to spark a comprehensive redevelopment of the town, progress could be brought screeching to a halt before work has even begun.

Cllr Graham Payne, deputy leader of the district council, said: "We were told we would have to kick-start it by putting something up front so public land could be developed and everything could follow on.

"The cinema was something they thought about where the library now stands. It could cost between £5m and £15m. To be honest the question we are faced with is how do we raise the money?

"I don't think there is enough there to convince the public it is a viable proposition. The consultants want public art and culture. Have they been around Trowbridge at 12.30am on a Saturday?"

Former district council economic portfolio holder Jeff Osborn said: "It is aspirational and ambitious but can it be delivered?"

Steering group chairman and South West Regional Development Agency's head of operations, Philip Watkins MBE, said the momentum must be taken forward and Trowbridge mayor Glyn Bridges said the Vision incorporated "bold and exciting proposals".

A team of 20 consultants from seven companies have inputted into the framework design.

The project partners West Wiltshire District Council and the South West Regional Development Agency, set aside £645,000 to fund the consultation process.

As in initial plans unveiled to the public at the West Wilts Show, Trowbridge is split into five key zones, with the River Biss used as a catalyst for town centre development.

A cinema, leisure centre and art/media centre are suggested with the majority of Fore Street transforming into a Market Square. Aquatic improvements will lead to Waterside Square, while Brewery Square is earmarked for land near the former Ushers plant. Public art is given a major role while bus and rail interchanges are interlinked.

Full proposals will be made public in December with the framework going before district council cabinet members on December 17.

TWO big name stores could be poised to sign-up to the former Tesco site as plans are submitted in the same week a Vision framework for Trowbridge is unveiled.

Site owner St Stephens Place Investments Ltd has submitted plans to demolish the abandoned building to make way for two retail units and a restaurant.

Frustrated by West Wiltshire District Council's vow not to alter park boundaries or sell-off the multi-storey car park, without a promise of the

same number of spaces elsewhere, company chiefs have opted to move plans forward.

Nigel Tuersley, one of the Wiltshire-based firm's directors, said: "It is not what we would have liked as unquestionably the best thing would be to develop the whole area.

"We are caught between a rock and a hard place."

Matalan is rumoured to be one of two big-name retailers keen to move onto the site.

Allied London first bought the land off Tesco in 2000 hoping to set up a cinema, but plans hit the rocks when their search for an operator failed.

MINISTER Yvette Cooper is once again holding up a key decision affecting the future of Trowbridge.

Following on from the ongoing delays over the town's magistrates' court earlier in the year, the minister is now directly involved in the future of Foinavon's application for the former Ushers brewery site.

Officials at the Government Office for the South West have already made a decision on whether the housing and retail plans will be called in for a public inquiry. But the ultimate decision rests with the Office for the Deputy Prime Minister, with Miss Cooper having the final say.

Potentially affecting the future of both Ushers' sites, the hold-up is beginning to give developers, housing society officers and civic leaders itchy feet.

West wiltshire MP Dr Andrew Murrison has written a personal letter to Miss Cooper asking her to clarify the hold-up.

Big name retailers are said to be "knocking on the door" to sign-up to the scheme, with many hoping Marks and Spencer could be a prospective tenant.