A £4M revamp of Abingdon’s shopping precinct is a “short term fix” that will need to be redone within years, a councillor has warned.

Gervase Duffield, a Vale of White Horse district councillor, said Abbey Shopping Centre needed to be demolished and rebuilt to attract more shoppers and business to the town.

Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (SWIP) is to start work on the refurbishment next month.

The canopies will be removed, the rooftops rebuilt, and five units will be altered to create two large two-storey shops. New street furniture will also be installed.

Mr Duffield also said many Conservatives disapproved of the plan but could do little about it as the deal was struck by the former Liberal Democrat administration in March before the Tories took power in May.

The Conservative member for Sutton Courtenay said: “A lot of people are saying how wonderful it is but I personally think it is a disaster.

“They must knock down the precinct because none of it fits the modern needs. Tinkering does not achieve anything.”

He said the Bury Street precinct needed to be radically changed with bigger units to help Abingdon compete with towns like Didcot and Witney.

He added: “We are trying desperately to save the centre of Abingdon. For its time it was perfectly all right, but shopping has moved on now.

“I would have thought they would have gone for a long-term solution instead of a short-term fix. But it will get even more out of date and they will have to throw more money at it.

“It is silly to waste money on it.”

Leader of the council Matthew Barber said: “It was a deal done by the Lib Dems just before the election and the penalties for withdrawing from such a deal would be significant both socially and economically.

“In an ideal world demolishing it and starting again would be preferable, but we have a deal with the developer and it’s good for Abingdon, and we will push ahead with it.”

The next stage of the scheme will be a £50m rebuild of the Charter area with a supermarket taking centre stage.

Paul Townsend, Abingdon Chamber of Commerce president, said: “We are lucky to have this amount of investment. We have been waiting for this for years.”

Developer spokesman Martin Hughes said: “The Charter area is next on the agenda and the outcome of all of that, which will amount to about £50m of investment, is going to ensure the long-term viability of the town centre.”