Alex Chapman doesn't have a problem with the banana-shaped building being built on Colchester's former bus station site.

In fact, Alex, 15, thinks the Visual Arts Facility (Vaf) isn't a bad idea. Trouble is, he wonders why no-one has asked the town's secondary schools what they would like to see happening inside this controversial building.

He isn't alone. Having heard how much the great and the good in north Essex either love or hate Vaf, it dawned that those missing from this line-up are young people - like Alex, Hannah Stiles, Amanda Cappleman, Max Middleweek, Tayyab Razak and Ryan Kulikowski. They are all students in year 11 at St Helena School in Colchester; they have a clear-headed approach to the arts and just don't understand why they have not been approached.

"I would have thought it would have been a good idea to get people our age involved," said Ryan, 16. "But we only found out about the Visual Arts Facility from the newspapers."

Max, though, had heard of it from his mother. He went with her to a public meeting at Colchester Town Hall.

He said: "Those who went gave their views on whether or not the town needed this art gallery. It got quite argumentative, and I got the impression the people at the meeting didn't want it "I was surprised when it went ahead. I still would like to know how many people in Colchester want this."

This doesn't mean Max, 15, is against the Vaf. He isn't; he just thinks if you are going to spend £16.5 million on a community gallery then the community should want it.

Hannah, 16, goes further. Maybe decisions have nothing to do with what the community wants.

"Trying to get the town's new football (community) stadium built has been going on for a long time - yet look at how many people want that," she pointed out. "Is it really feasible to spend that much money on the art gallery if so few people want it?"

Yet Tayyab, 16, believes the Vaf will "be worth the money spent on it", if it delivers.

"Colchester is so near London that those running the art gallery will have to offer what no other gallery anywhere else offers," he said. "That way, people will come to Colchester."

So, what do they want to see at the Vaf? Well, a name-change for a start, but much more importantly, they all want the art gallery to beaccessible.

"We should be able to feel comfortable walking in at any time," declared Amanda, 15. "It would be great to be able to meet friends there in the evening.

"I think the gallery should highlight progressive artists, perhaps feature the work of a new artist every month and encourage local artists."

Tayyab thinks there should be an area to experiment with photography while Alex, Ryan and Hannah want the Vaf to be hands-on, where people don't just look, they take part.

"There are all kinds of things which could go on there, including dance," said Alex. "It would be great to try looking at art through the eyes of people who don't usually go to galleries and museums. That's why it would be a good idea to get people of our age involved."