Reid Street could be pedestrianised by next year after the Corporation of Hamilton began inviting architectural tenders.

However traders are still divided over the controversial plan with some believing removing street parking will hurt sales.

Mayor Lawson Mapp (pictured) denied the plan was a done deal but said tenders would be open to public scrutiny as the Hamilton seeks to revitalise it struggling retail sector.

Mr. Mapp told : ?I think the public is basically in favour of pedestrianising lower Reid.

?Most places in Europe are closing off the streets to make it more pedestrian friendly, putting out art and having al fresco dining.

?But it is not a fait accompli. We are inviting submissions, so I think it is fairly transparent, from the general public in what they would like to see.?

However he admitted the closure of Smith?s and Trimingham?s and the wait for the new AS Coopers to emerge had taken some of the shine off the plan.

Ironically both Smith?s and Trimingham?s had bitterly opposed previous moves to bar street parking before their demise last year.

Architects will be invited to pick up tender bids for plans to change Reid Street between Burnaby Street and Queen Street from today and return them by December 1.

Mr. Mapp said work could be completed in 2006 while he also said the Corporation planned to spruce up Washington Lane by putting in attractive bricks, lights and a roof.

Kristi Grayston, co-chairperson of the Retail Division of the Chamber of Commerce, said the pedestrianisation plan had been a hot topic over recent years but the move by the Corporation had come out of the blue.

?I am surprised, there was no official notification or consultation at all. It sounds like a decision has already been made.?

She said the Retail Division had not looked at the issue recently.

?It is a divisive topic.? She said some retailers feared a road not open to Police cars could encourage undesirables while others were excited about sprucing up the area.

Gibbons Company CEO Susan Bawn said her company was against pedestrianisation as it made it difficult to restock.

?We have seen during the Christmas season when Reid Street has been pedestrianised it hasn?t necessarily brought the right sort of people.?

Former Chamber of Commerce president Charles Gosling took a different view.

He said: ?Hamilton needs to rediscover itself and I think this is one way to do it.

?As has most certainly been highlighted by the closure of Trimingham?s and Smith?s anything that can bring back some excitement and recreate Hamilton as draw for shoppers would be wonderful.?