RELOCATING Bridport Football Club and using its ground as a giant car park is among the latest suggestions to ease town centre traffic congestion.

The radical idea has been put forward in a discussion document drawn up by Coun Tony Harrison to help overcome the town's chronic shortage of parking.

His action plan was presented to a meeting of the town council's new highways and transportation subcommittee on Monday.

Options suggested in the blueprint include:

* Extending South Street Car Park with a two level "open plan" car park with medieval arches on the New Zealand land. * Improving public parking facilities at the football club by either broadening out the existing area with a marked tarmac surface or building a multi-storey car park there with three levels. * Relocating the football club to another site outside the town which would then give Bridport all the parking spaces required in one area. * Building a three-storey car park in the existing Somerfield car park. * Developing car parking sites behind St Mary's Church and Mountjoy School. Coun Harrison said he realised his proposal to relocate the football club could cause "public disquiet" - but he said it had been done successfully in other towns. Further development of the site such as riverside cafes or a large park and play area for children and families could also be possible.

Coun David Tett thought much of the plan could be workable - like improving facilities at the football ground and putting down tarmac. But he said relocating the club was a "non-starter". They had just spent £96,000 on a new stand.

Coun Leader Charles Wild wondered whether encouraging more cars into Bridport should be their goal at all.

Some weekday mornings there were up to 100 empty spaces in the car parks. The problem was only for a few hours on a summer Saturday.

"We must recognise that most of the year there are adequate spaces," he said.

"What we really want is people in the centre of town not cars and there may be other issues about how we can get them. Spending ratepayers' money on new car parks would be premature until we have investigated some of those other options.

"As a council we are looking to improve the economic vitality of the town but also the quality of the town centre environment."

Coun Richard Nicholls warned that Bridport town centre faced gridlock if more traffic was encouraged to come in. And multi-storey car parks encouraged crime, he warned.

He said Bridport needed to retain is country town character and not become simply an extension of Weymouth.

Coun David Tett said there were certainly problems with parking on a Saturday when at 9.30am there was often not a space to be had. But he said there were proposals for additional car parking as part of the south west quadrant redevelopment and they should mark time on that.

The sub-committee also heard a plea from the chamber of trade for extra parking, supported by a petition signed by 100 local shops and businesses.

President Tony Boughton said action was needed if Bridport was to remain a prosperous, successful town centre. The alternative was a town of empty premises, a preponderance of charity shops and town centre neglect.