AN ARCHITECTURAL firm looks set to return to the drawing board after handing a £8.3m quote to surprised town councillors.

The cost of revamping Petersfield’s Festival Hall will rise by £1.35m if early proposals by Foster Wilson Architects (FWA) are pursued by councillors.

The stand-out features, based on feedback from a summer exhibition, include a £700,000 foyer extension and an orchestra pit, costing £150,000 to £470,000 depending on its mechanics.

It looks unlikely either will become a reality as a new foyer would account for 10 per cent of the anticipated £7m cost of the scheme. Petersfield Town Council (PTC) would also lose around £7,000 a year in parking income as the extension would take up 16 spaces.

Members of the Public Halls Committee, which reviewed the proposals last Monday ahead of tonight’s full PTC meeting, agreed that the FWA plans should be scaled back.

“The suggested improvements to the Festival Hall are welcome but the scale and cost, together with the potential loss of so many parking spaces, is not an acceptable scheme,” said Councillor Phill Humphries.

Members earlier suggested putting around £2,500 of PTC funds aside for consultation, with Town Clerk Neil Hitch calling the project “flipping expensive”.

“This is one of the biggest things PTC is going to do in any decade and we need to be inclusive,” said Councillor Paul Strawbridge.

“It needs to be publicised as much as it can to make sure everyone can get there and give an opinion.”