PLANS have been put forward for more than 30 years to redevelop the Charles Street site in Dorchester town centre.

Schemes for a new look town centre on the short stay car parks were touted as long ago as 1973.

The first proposed redevelopment was abandoned in 1974 because it was seen as too ambitious.

The most recent scheme is the third in the last 20 years.

A plan to build a two-storey shopping mall on Charles Street was proposed by developers in the late 1980s, but died amid the collapse of the property market.

Shopping in Dorchester returned to the top of the agenda in the late 1990s after developers Helical unveiled plans to create major department stores, around 25 smaller shops, an extension to Waitrose and housing.

But it abandoned the scheme in 2000 after failing to secure a flagship store, blaming a poor retail market. Major chains, such as Marks and Spencer and Beales were initially lined up as flagship stores before pulling out.