PLANS to replace a 25-year-old traffic kiosk in the Cathedral Close have been rejected for a second time, after an inspector said plans for a new one would look “over assertive” and “harsh” in its historic environment.

Proposals to replace the kiosk, at the High Street Gate entrance to The Close, were submitted last year, by an architect who said the existing structure had “more the appearance of a garden shed than its traffic control function”.

The plans said it should be replaced as the timber frame let in water and was “severely decayed and beyond economic repair”, and said replacing the kiosk with a new plastic frame would have “no adverse impact” on the landscape of The Close.

But Wiltshire Council rejected the proposal in June, saying plans “did not fully indicate how the proposal would fit within its surrounding context, and no detailed explanation had been provided as to why a timber or other natural material could not be utilised”.

After appealing the council’s decision, the architect (HBC-Alderholt) has had its plans rejected a second time by an independent inspector.

The inspector said a replacement kiosk “in the same location and in a reasonably short space of time should be considered necessary and desirable” and that this may need to be larger than the existing kiosk to accommodate changes to its use and additional staff members.

But they added: “The kiosk proposed, whilst no doubt addressing the operational requirements, would appear over assertive in its surroundings and the material and its colour risks appearing harsh and machine-made” and said it would “cause harm to the setting of the listed building and to the character and appearance of The Close”.

They concluded: “Whilst there are shortcomings in the present condition of the kiosk now in place... it is apparent that the service can be provided from a more appropriate design of kiosk, one that has been designed to be as unobtrusive but functional as that presently in place.”