AN architecture watchdog has condemned plans for York's Coppergate Riverside development, branding them "clumsy" and "poorly proportioned".

Dr Giles Worsley, speaking on behalf of the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) told the inquiry into the proposals that the plans were "a wasted opportunity".

Dr Worsley, architecture correspondent for the Daily Telegraph, focused his criticism on Unit 10 of the project which would stand next to to the former women's prison.

He said: "It sets out to respond to the prison, but the design is so weak that it ends up parodying it. It requires a building of the highest quality, instead this building is the worst in the entire scheme. It is poorly proportioned, badly detailed, and clumsily handled in its essential form."

He also criticised the "poor quality of landscaping" and of the whole package said "it is not the 'inspired architectural design and layout planning' considered 'essential' by City of York planning brief.

"The opportunity is wasted and the proposed development will instead degrade the site."

The inquiry also heard from Peter Stewart, the deputy chief executive of the commission, who branded the architecture as "arbitrary and whimsical, and yet lacking in interest or charm".

He said: "CABE believes the standard of architecture in the Coppergate Riverside scheme does not measure up to that required for this important and sensitive site.

"CABE believes that, if it were built, it would soon be regretted as a lost opportunity."

Updated: 15:53 Friday, February 01, 2002