Moving a Norfolk town's library into a former Argos store is akin to "moving Norwich Castle into an old shop", it has been claimed.
Norfolk County Council wants to create a new £12.4m 'community hub' in the heart of King's Lynn, which will include a new library and community centre.
The new hub would be in the former Argos store, part of the town's Vancouver Quarter shopping centre, but there has been anger that the existing library will move from the historic Carnegie building.
And Alexandra Kemp, independent county councillor for Clenchwarton and South Lynn, criticised the plans at a meeting of the county council's Conservative-controlled cabinet.
At Wednesday's (January 11) meeting, Miss Kemp described the Argos store as an "ugly 70s wreck" and said the proposed move was "unpopular".
About 500 people responded to county council consultation about the proposal, which would be partly funded through £7.4m from the Towns Deal Fund the government awarded West Norfolk Council.
And Miss Kemp said people wanted the Carnegie building, in London Road, to remain as a library - which the consultation did not ask about.
She said: "You would not move Norwich Castle into an old shop. People are proud of this.
"In this cost of living crisis, having buildings people are proud of and like is really, really important. It's part of our heritage. The cabinet is making a terrible mistake."
She called for the council to instead extend the Carnegie building.
However, Margaret Dewsbury, the council's cabinet member for communities and partnerships, said there would not be a u-turn, with contracts on the former Argos store's purchase having been exchanged.
She told Miss Kemp: "Most people, unlike yourself, feel that we should have something like The Forum in Norwich in the middle of King's Lynn.
"This is the answer, where we could have all sorts of other things, like adult education, where people can access them easily in the centre of King's Lynn.
"The Carnegie building is a bit off-centre. And, as far as that building is concerned, it will be kept as a community asset.
"An information pack is being prepared, so any organisations that feel they've got an idea on how we should use it can come and tell us about it."
The Carnegie Building
The Grade II-listed building gets its name from Scottish philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, who opened it 118 years ago.
It is one of 660 libraries built across the UK and Ireland with the help of Mr Carnegie.
In 1914, and throughout the First World War, the tower was used as an observation point for soldiers tasked to look out for possible invasion and Zeppelin threats.
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