A community group has proposed that the library should be moved to the current site of the Post Office in the Magnolia Centre.

Exmouth Residents’ Association (ERA) ratified its response to the LDA masterplan at a meeting this week, as part of a public consultation which concludes this month.

LDA Design was commissioned by council chiefs to draw up a vision for the town centre and seafront over the next 15 years and has invited groups and individuals to have their say.

The proposals include changes to the seafront and Elizabeth Hall, and a new supermarket on the rugby club’s ground and to redevelop the London Inn carpark.

The committee of the ERA said: “We are in favour of redeveloping the present Post Office site in the Magnolia Centre.

“Our suggestion is to relocate the library here. The library should be at the heart of our community. To be there, it must be located in the centre of our town.”

The group said that if it was in the Magnolia Centre, as opposed to Exeter Road, it would become ‘more viable’ for shoppers.

It concluded: “The Post Office counter should remain and a hotel of the Premier Inn or Travelodge type should be located on the upper floor with merely an entrance at ground level.

“The hotel would have no catering facilities, leaving guests to frequent our many restaurants and caf�s. Once again, another scheme to bring prosperity into our town.”

The ERA also said it favoured small, locally run shops on the site of the London Inn car park: “We do not want to be a clone town and do not think that we should challenge Darts Farm, Topsham or Budleigh.

“Nor do we think our future lies as a mini-Exeter. We think people in Exmouth want variety, good value and the ability to buy their everyday essentials.”

l To have your say you can either go to www.exmouthmasterplan.co.uk, or chat with councillors this Saturday, September 3, between 10am and 2pm, in the Magnolia Centre.