Designs for a village sports pavilion which will replace a 70-year-old one destroyed by arsonists have been branded “soulless” and resembling a prison.

Canterbury City Council recently revealed its plans for the replacement facility and play park to residents at a public meeting in Hersden, but the proposals have met with criticism from villagers.

And the parish council says some of the points it made to council officers have been “completely disregarded”.

The much-loved old pavilion was set on fire four years ago and had to be demolished.

The new one is set to have changing rooms, showers and toilets, and the council will also improve offerings already there, like the BMX track.

But Terry McMahan, a former youth worker who spent 12 years supporting young people in Hersden, says the proposed building doesn’t look friendly or inviting, and lacks a much-needed kitchen.

“I have never seen a more soulless and depressing-looking building than what they have proposed,” Mr McMahan says.

“It broke my heart, considering the hours of my life spent in the previous building, making some of the most amazing memories and lifelong connections.

“That building was an anchor between generations within the village, every person had a memory of it and what it meant to them.”

The outraged resident says the new drawings, which don’t even include windows, are overbearing and resemble an “armoured shield”. But planning officers reason the designs need to help prevent future vandalism.

Mr McMahan says: “One incident of horrific vandalism, criminality and arson should not define its replacement. It’s like having a pushbike stolen and replacing it with a Sherman tank.”

He also fears the initial designs do not “embed football back within the community”.

“It just serves to put a windowless, armored shield around a changing facility and nothing more,” he says.

“It will not become a central hub, a place to get a cuppa and connect with friends while watching a game of football. That is what football does. It brings people together.

“This is not a facility that looks welcoming or celebrates football and its historical links within our community.”

He was not alone in his assessment. Writing on the Hersden village Facebook group, one person bemoaned: “It’s a horrible building and offers very little to the community. Might as well have a container with toilets in it.”

Another added: “I think it looks just like a prison with no windows. It should be rebuilt as the original one, which had been there for over 70 years and held so many happy memories for all of us.”

Parish council chairman Jack Brabham says his members have met with the city council regularly to discuss the rebuild and insurance claim.

“We tried to work with CCC to get the building rebuilt apace and make it as useful as possible,” he said.

“We advised that externally the building should be secure and as vandal proof as possible with security windows, a taller building so that children cannot climb onto the roof and built with block and rendered painted walls (to reduce both the build costs and make graffiti easier to keep on top of).

“As for inside, a space for gathering, a kitchen or kitchenette so that people are able to get a cup of tea and have somewhere warm and dry.

“We did not see any elevations until the consultation.

“Some of our pointers were listened to and others were completely disregarded.”

League football has not been played on the Hersden Recreation Ground since the pavilion was destroyed because the FA requires changing facilities for players.

‘This is not a facility that looks welcoming or celebrates football...’

But Mr McMahan believes many teams would like to play at the ground if the appropriate facilities were in place.

And he did have some praise for the proposed new playpark which is part of the city council scheme.

“The second ball court being given an all-weather surface is brilliant, as long as it has floodlighting to allow children to benefit from it for evening training during the winter,” he says.

“A skatepark area is something I long wanted to see developed. And development of the BMX track to include a pump track and a smooth cycle area for smaller children is a nice addition.”

The council says the old pavilion had twice been targeted by thieves and vandals - first stealing pipe works and electricals, causing £60,000 worth of damage and then the total loss of the building due to the fire.

Spokesman Leo Whitlock said: "We're glad people are passionate about the future of sports and community facilities in Hersden - that's why we met with them to seek their views on our initial designs for the pavilion.

"We'll take that feedback away and see what we can do to please as many people as we can despite competing demands and the constraints we're working under.

"These include a limited amount of cash, although we're trying to tap into other pots of funding, a real need to get a changing facility built sooner rather than later to benefit those using the pitches there, the hope for exclusive use by some versus it being completely open to the public and the desire of some for it to be utterly vandal proof.

"There is also the need not to compete with the existing community facilities so putting them in financial peril or duplicate community facilities coming down the line because of the neighbouring largescale housing development.

"We're also working closely with the community on the masterplan for the open space on the site."