A multi-million pound plan for a new library in Christ’s College has been announced, aiming to “bring about an improvement in the appearance” of Christ’s Lane.

Professor Peter Landshoff, Chairman of the College’s Development Committee, said: “The present building on the left hand side of Christ’s Lane as you go towards the bus station is extremely ugly, spoiling the whole feel of Christ’s Lane. We want to improve that by having a really attractive building.”

The College will demolish the current library, built in the 1970s, and build a new one, a proposal that has been estimated to cost between £10 and £20 million.

The new library will be more spacious, providing a greater number of reader places and better facilities for library users. There is also a plan to put a glass roof over the courtyard, under which will be a café and a meeting area.

The planning application is being finalised and is due to be submitted to the Cambridge City Council within the next month.

While some students have expressed their disagreement of the introduction of modern architecture into the old city centre, others strongly support the proposal.

“There’s no need to preserve the dull conformity of Cambridge architecture,” said one undergraduate. “It will be a refreshing addition to the layout of Christ’s Lane.”

The architect for the project is Rick Mather, an award-winning architect whose recent projects have included the £61 million renovation of the Ashmolean museum in Oxford.