A British 1916 light cruiser design

I am not that happy with the result, but I have a British light cruiser design for 1916. Again, a great deal of displacement seems to be needed to have adequate composite strength. Perhaps someone can point out the error of my ways. This is a 32-knot ship with 8-6in QF, 4-4in AA, and 8-21in TT (above water). The belt is 3in and the deck is 2in. This is the Springsharp report:

GB/CL/1916, Great Britain Light Cruiser laid down 1916

Displacement:
 8,680 t light; 8,964 t standard; 9,750 t normal; 10,378 t full load

Dimensions: Length overall / water x beam x draught
 571.82 ft / 570.00 ft x 56.00 ft x 18.00 ft (normal load)
 174.29 m / 173.74 m x 17.07 m  x 5.49 m

Armament:
      8 - 6.00" / 152 mm guns (4x2 guns), 108.00lbs / 48.99kg shells, 1916 Model
   Breech loading guns in turrets (on barbettes)
   on centreline ends, evenly spread, 2 raised mounts - superfiring
      4 - 4.00" / 102 mm guns in single mounts, 32.00lbs / 14.51kg shells, 1916 Model
   Anti-aircraft guns in deck mounts with hoists
   on side, all amidships, all raised mounts - superfiring
      16 - 1.57" / 40.0 mm guns (1x16 guns), 2.00lbs / 0.91kg shells, 1916 Model
   Anti-aircraft guns in deck mount 
   on side
 Weight of broadside 1,024 lbs / 464 kg
 Shells per gun, main battery: 150
 8 - 21.0" / 533.4 mm above water torpedoes

Armour:
   - Belts:  Width (max) Length (avg)  Height (avg)
 Main: 3.00" / 76 mm 410.00 ft / 124.97 m 12.00 ft / 3.66 m
 Ends: Unarmoured
   Main Belt covers 111 % of normal length
   Main belt does not fully cover magazines and engineering spaces

   - Gun armour: Face (max) Other gunhouse (avg) Barbette/hoist (max)
 Main: 4.00" / 102 mm 2.00" / 51 mm  4.00" / 102 mm

   - Armour deck: 2.00" / 51 mm, Conning tower: 4.00" / 102 mm

Machinery:
 Oil fired boilers, steam turbines, 
 Geared drive, 4 shafts, 88,221 shp / 65,813 Kw = 32.00 kts
 Range 4,700nm at 15.00 kts
 Bunker at max displacement = 1,414 tons

Complement:
 489 - 637

Cost:
 £1.426 million / $5.704 million

Distribution of weights at normal displacement:
 Armament: 128 tons, 1.3 %
 Armour: 1,772 tons, 18.2 %
    - Belts: 607 tons, 6.2 %
    - Torpedo bulkhead: 0 tons, 0.0 %
    - Armament: 267 tons, 2.7 %
    - Armour Deck: 859 tons, 8.8 %
    - Conning Tower: 39 tons, 0.4 %
 Machinery: 3,287 tons, 33.7 %
 Hull, fittings & equipment: 3,493 tons, 35.8 %
 Fuel, ammunition & stores: 1,070 tons, 11.0 %
 Miscellaneous weights: 0 tons, 0.0 %

Overall survivability and seakeeping ability:
 Survivability (Non-critical penetrating hits needed to sink ship):
   8,961 lbs / 4,065 Kg = 83.0 x 6.0 " / 152 mm shells or 1.2 torpedoes
 Stability (Unstable if below 1.00): 1.27
 Metacentric height 3.2 ft / 1.0 m
 Roll period: 13.1 seconds
 Steadiness - As gun platform (Average = 50 %): 51 %
   - Recoil effect (Restricted arc if above 1.00): 0.31
 Seaboat quality  (Average = 1.00): 1.02

Hull form characteristics:
 Hull has rise forward of midbreak
 Block coefficient: 0.594
 Length to Beam Ratio: 10.18 : 1
 'Natural speed' for length: 23.87 kts
 Power going to wave formation at top speed: 59 %
 Trim (Max stability = 0, Max steadiness = 100): 50
 Bow angle (Positive = bow angles forward): 4.00 degrees
 Stern overhang: -2.00 ft / -0.61 m
 Freeboard (% = measuring location as a percentage of overall length):
    - Stem:  26.00 ft / 7.92 m
    - Forecastle (20 %): 22.00 ft / 6.71 m
    - Mid (67 %):  22.00 ft / 6.71 m (14.00 ft / 4.27 m aft of break)
    - Quarterdeck (15 %): 14.00 ft / 4.27 m
    - Stern:  14.00 ft / 4.27 m
    - Average freeboard: 19.68 ft / 6.00 m
 Ship tends to be wet forward

Ship space, strength and comments:
 Space - Hull below water (magazines/engines, low = better): 119.6 %
  - Above water (accommodation/working, high = better): 148.0 %
 Waterplane Area: 23,214 Square feet or 2,157 Square metres
 Displacement factor (Displacement / loading): 104 %
 Structure weight / hull surface area: 94 lbs/sq ft or 459 Kg/sq metre
 Hull strength (Relative):
  - Cross-sectional: 0.97
  - Longitudinal: 1.25
  - Overall: 1.00
 Hull space for machinery, storage, compartmentation is cramped
 Room for accommodation and workspaces is excellent