Although taxpayers have yet to be consulted, West Berkshire Council has earmarked cash to ban vehicles using Wharf Street to feed into the one-way system.

The car park is one of nine being built over for the town's revival plans devised by West Berkshire Council, developers and other commercial interests.

It is not clear whether the market will be relocated, although a suggestion has been made to relocate the stallholders to the Wharf.

At a recent meeting of the town centre steering group, West Berkshire Council said: "The intention is to remove all cars from Market Place, so it becomes a focal point. There are no formal proposals as yet, but capital funding has been earmarked."

The council has hired more traffic experts to conduct a "movement study" to examine the impact of pedestrianising another part of town.

Sainsburys paid £350,000 to upgrade the pavements in Market Place seven years ago, in return for planning consent to move out to Kings Road, and Sainsburys - which is awaiting consent to extend and build a multi-storey car park - has indicated support for the Market Place car ban, so the area can be used for promotional events.