A SUPERMARKET in the centre of Hereford should be transformed into the city's new Central Library, according to an architectural writer.

Nick Jones says that if Tesco, in Bewell Street, was to relocate to the Edgar Street Grid it could pave the way for a new library in less than five years.

Writing in Hereford Civic Society's monthly newsletter, Mr Jones claimed a carefully planned library fit-out operation could easily be achieved within six months of a Tesco move.

If the Edgar Street development went ahead as planned, he said Hereford could have a brand new Central Library by 2008.

"Apart from external signage and lighting and the creation of a more inviting entrance, these extremely well-maintained buildings would require virtually no major structural alterations," said Mr Jones, whose views do not reflect the official Hereford Civic Society policy.

He believed floor space in the 'new Central Library' could also be used for a small shop and kiosk, the council's 'one-stop-shop' information point, a larger Tourist Information Office and an IT suite.

"Could the first commercial stirrings of the long-promised Edgar Street Grid development offer the city - via the novel transformation of an existing building - the opportunity to achieve its much-needed Central Library?" he asked.

"Consider the advantages," he said. "A solidly-built single-storey unit with a floor area of well over 4,000 square metres, a very central location 'inside the ring road' which was, after all, the council's very first pre-requisite when it originally went looking for a library site.