A leading design voice in Marlow has questioned whether the new town centre improvement project is suitable for the "jewel of the Thames".

Jonathan Heighway - principal architect at Heighway Associates - said the design for the £100k scheme on Spittal Street does not resemble early drawings he originally made on behalf of Wycombe District Council.

The West Street-based businessman said instead of traditional, local stone, the proposed granite sets are not appropriate for the historic town centre.

But though he praised the Shanly Group and councils for acting to get something done with its shared scheme, he said chances to set a high standard of public spaces do not come around often.

He said: "We showed [initial drawings] at the Local Area Forum and it was well received, we were aiming to set a design standard for Marlow.

"But as it goes down the line and enters the public purse it inevitably gets watered down.

"It’s down to the materials, they’re not classic and the designers have had their engineering hats on and used materials that are easy to work with.

"Ideally it should be traditional materials, rather than reconstituted concrete and stone. But I realise there is a cost to that.

"Marlow needs a quality design standard, it’s the jewel of the Thames and we need to keep it that way.

"There is a massive opportunity here. But I realise you have to be realistic and anything is better than nothing."

Wycombe District Council wants to roll out the proposed changes to the whole of the town centre, with West Street to follow in 2016 and High Street the following year.

This week, the Marlow Society called for a 20mph speed limit to be introduced to ensure the scheme's safety.