A HOTEL on the police station site in Devizes could become a focal point for regeneration of the Wharf area of the town.

A new consultation on how the canal can bring more visitors to Devizes and for the Wharf to be used to its full potential started this week. Scores of people attended the first day of the exhibition at The Wharf Theatre on Tuesday but many were sceptical that this round of talks will be any more productive than the many similar exercises that have happened in the past.

Discussion about how the Wharf could be improved started under the old Kennet District Council and a number of elaborate schemes that included shops, cafes and housing were drawn up along with a plan for a new footpath to link the whole area.

Wiltshire's manager of regeneration Clare Langdon said: "I have been involved with this for just over a year but a lot of people I have spoken to have told me about the long history.

"But we think now is the right time to be bringing all the different groups together to talk about the future and how potential assets can be used."

She pointed to the fact that Wiltshire Police has announce it wants to sell-off the borough police station in New Park Street and the NHS also wants to dispose of the nearby Devizes Hospital site in the near future.

She said: "We want to look at the viability of a hotel on the police station site. We know there is a need for more overnight accommodation in the town."

Mayor Nigel Carter said he hoped the hospital site could be imaginatively developed and include an area close to the canal that would be appealing to visitors.

Senior development officer Rory Bowen said he thought that the Wharf could be made more attractive in the near future by adding more comfortable seating for visitors to the canal and with better signage.

The consultation will include the old and decaying Assize Court building which last year Wiltshire Museum said it wanted to buy. But this is owned by a private investor who lives abroad and has not been keen to enter into negotiations.

People living in retirement homes at Ansty Court are against a footpath running outside their homes. Jill and Sidney Jacques say they were not told about the plan when they bought their home four years ago.

Mrs Jacques said: "We are totally against a path running so close to our home. But we think a temporary structure such as a marquee should be put up near the theatre that could be used for events throughout the year."