Town centre bosses today unveiled a £100,000 bid to transform the heart of Shipley.

If the proposals - agreed in principle by the Shipley Town Centre Development Partnership - go ahead, the familiar, compact outdoor market's permanent rows of covered stalls will be scrapped in favour of a linear set-up.

Scheme organisers say it would provide a massive boost for the town centre by creating more car parking spaces in Market Square, a more accessible and flexible market and a central area which could be used to host large outdoor events.

The scheme would involve bringing the site covered by the existing market and neighbouring car park up to the same level as the pedestrianised area running down the west side of Market Square.

The new-look market would comprise two back-to-back lines of stalls running along the edge of the pedestrianised area and could even be extended up Well Croftz.

Partnership chairman Councillor John Carroll (Con, Shipley West) said: "A basic plan's now been drawn up and got approval in principle from the partnership.

"It's still very early days and we'll now be consulting with the market traders, shopkeepers, local councillors and people who actually use the town centre as well as the public through the autumn round of neighbourhood forums before deciding whether to progress. If it turns out they don't want this, we won't be forcing it on them and we will leave things as they are.

"Pedestrianising the town centre has worked and it's now a pleasant place to go shopping. But while it's got good bus, rail and pedestrian access, it can be very difficult for motorists to find parking spaces.

"With the market as it is at the moment, on non-market days we've got a 'dead area' of stalls standing there doing nothing. But this scheme would use that area to provide a bit more parking on market days and more than 20 extra spaces on non-market days. That would help bring more people into the town centre which in turn would help business. I believe the market itself would benefit from being linear as it would be more open and easier for people to get round and would also give us a huge area to put on large outdoor events.

"It's all part of moving the town on and making Shipley vibrant again six days a week rather than just on market days.''

Councillor Carroll said if the consultation process revealed support, detailed plans would be submitted to the council for approval and work would start in March or April, with a grand re-opening at the beginning of the Shipley Festival in May.

Councillor Simon Cooke (Con, Bingley Rural), the council's executive member with the economic portfolio, said: "From what I've seen, it looks quite an attractive scheme which would certainly open up Shipley town centre."