WANTAGE Civic Hall should be renamed The John Betjeman Centre, says a local arts promoter.

Jim Mitchell, artistic director of the Not Just Betjeman literary festival, said: “The word ‘centre’ suggests somewhere people can congregate, and John Betjeman’s name is universally known.

“I understand that King Alfred might also be popular but think this in addition to the school might be overkill.”

Vale of White Horse District Council is inviting suggestions for a new name for the hall as part of a relaunch.

Betjeman, the former Poet Laureate who died in 1984, lived in Wantage for more than 20 years.