RESIDENTS and community leaders have criticised plans for a multi-million pound concert venue.

Ripon Cathedral Choir School wants to build a 350-seat assembly hall, classrooms and houses.

The development is expected to cost more than £9m. The hall would be used by students from the school and the community for music events.

The development was welcomed by music and art groups when details were announced earlier this year.

However, this week residents living near the Choir School, off Whitcliffe Lane, in Ripon, raised objections.

John Chesher, from St Olave's Close, said the concert hall would be out of place.

He said: "We are concerned about the whole of the planning application and residents are especially concerned about the proposed 350-seat auditorium and all that that would bring with it, including extra traffic, parking and noise."

Local ward councillor Andrew Williams said: "The idea of having a 300-plus seat auditorium in a residential area is just ridiculous.

"They only have 52 parking spaces on site and there would be around 150 cars, so about 100 cars would have to park in the area, so you can understand why residents are not enamoured with the idea."

But the school's headteacher, Richard Pepys, said the facility would be of great benefit to Ripon.

He said: "We need better facilities at the school and we hope that we will be able to share them with the people in Ripon.

"At the moment, we have a facility which acts as an assembly hall, gym, theatre and concert hall and we hope to replace this with something specifically for the arts and, in the future, we hope to develop a separate sports hall suitable for the sporting needs of the children.

"The principal point of the school is to educate the pupils. We are aware that there are very few places where Ripon's musical and drama groups can rehearse, so if we could develop a facility that also benefit these groups, surely that would only be a good thing."

The city council will discuss the plans next month.