MORE than a quarter of Burnley's car parking spaces could be lost when a £50million redevelopment is started.

And today a town centre chief warned parking could become "unmanageable" if more spaces are not found for shoppers and commuters.

More than 400 spaces are in use on the former Pioneer site, Curzon Street, where the new £50million Oval shopping centre is to be built.

And there are fears that unless spaces are found to compensate for the loss in time for the crucial Christmas peak, traders will feel the pinch.

There are 1,619 council car parking spaces in the town centre, including 200 long stay and 230 short stay spaces on the Pioneer site. On Saturdays, it rises to 1,760 when the town hall car park is open to the public.

Town centre manager, Lisa Durkin, said this year's festive trade should remain unaffected but expressed concerns about the long-term impact. She said: "When work starts on the Pioneer site there will be 400 spaces out of the town centre and we need to find more or it will become unmanageable.

"We are in talks with the developer to try and get the car stack built first to try and offset the problem."

She added: "We should be okay this year but things could get sticky in 2006 and 2007. This is something we need to start thinking about now."

The site of the Thompson Centre, to be demolished once work is finished on the new health and leisure centre, could be used for temporary parking and provide around 150 spaces.

And a temporary park-and-ride scheme, possibly based at Calder Vale Road, could also help.

There were fears the loss of St Peter's car park would have a devastating impact on shoppers at Christmas. But figures show a good level of trade over the period as many people parked at the Pioneer site.

And the Oval complex is expected to create around 300 jobs and staff will need somewhere to park.

Coun Denis Otter, executive member for environment, planning and street scene, said the Oval project was not due to start for another 18 months and the clearance of the Thompson Centre would compensate for some of the lost spaces.

He said: "I can assure traders the council is fully aware of the need for adequate parking and is actively looking at a solution.

"The town centre masterplanning is to start this year and will look closely at issue like this."