LANCASHIRE County Council is formally expressing concern about plans to redevelop Preston City Centre.

Traffic congestion in the city could be made even worse by the newly-unveiled Tithebarn regeneration scheme, officers fear.

The worries are raised in a report by the county council environment director and says the city council needs to carry out more research before starting work on the plans prepared by developer Grosvenor Estates.

The county council, one of a number of 'statutory consultees' approached by the city council for help on the multi-million-pound scheme, details a number of concerns about Grosvenor's ideas for the city.

The report, due to be debated at a meeting of the county council cabinet on July 1, says: "While the development is supported and provides a welcome opportunity to achieve improvements, there are some very significant concerns over the proposals, as currently shown."

The report could throw a spanner in the works of the controversial scheme, begun in 1998. The masterplan, published in May, sets out proposed land uses in the Tithebarn area, including room for a new bus station and library.

But the county council is worried that the proposals are not backed up by traffic analysis, and could lead to significant problems. The report says: "The masterplan shows Percy Street closed to all traffic and Carlisle Street closed to private traffic. These roads carry substantial traffic flows and their closure may have a major effect upon traffic congestion."

A proposed bus shuttle between the bus and railway stations is said to "not be possible without a substantial reduction of traffic on Fishergate".

The county council also says plans for a new central library -- which the proposals place above a shopping development - "should not be supported by the county council". It adds: "The new library and knowledge centre -- which will be a flagship for the county -- should seize the opportunity for a higher impact location within a plaza setting with distinctive architecture."

Plans for a new bus station have also come under fire. Once a listed building, the giant transport hub is set to be redeveloped into what the county council describe as "a relatively small bus station".

The report says: "The site allocated for the new facility is not ideal, being more remote from the existing retail and commercial centre, albeit with much improved pedestrian access than the existing bus station."

The county council has hired WS Atkins Consultants to look into plans for the shuttle bus service between the bus and train station, and fears special measures will be needed to keep the service running on time.

The report says that the necessary re-routing of buses could leave parts of the city centre, particularly near the junction of Fishergate and Church Street, remote from the principal bus routes.