Plans for Sussex's first congestion zone are being drawn up, it has emerged.

Radical proposals to tackle traffic in the cathedral city of Chichester are being put forward to gauge public opinion.

Despite a set back earlier this year when Whitehall snubbed West Sussex County Council's plans for a road pricing scheme, the project is now back on the table.

With improvements to the A27 progressing, transport managers at West Sussex City Council want to concentrate on finding a solution to traffic jams inside Chichester.

They believe that the by-pass measures will not do enough to cut congestion and are looking at proposals ranging from introducing a fee for motorists, banning traffic within the city walls or a park-and-ride bus service.

A council spokesman said: "This is part of a consultation which will be used to draw up a proposal which will then go back for consultation.

"We want to look at local roads in Chichester but it is at very early stages.

"There is a plan to move the bus station across to the railway station site and we want to encourage more people to come in using trains and buses."

A bid for £300,000 of Government money to produce a feasibility study for a congestion zone in the city was turned down last year.

The county council had selected Chichester to investigate a road pricing scheme because A27 improvements were at the most advanced.

It was hoped that the scheme would also open the door to funding for a fast bus service running between Brighton and Portsmouth.

Instead, £7.5 million worth of "pump-priming" grants were shared between nine other areas of England, including Reading and Greater Manchester, which had drawn up plans for local road pricing trials.

It is not yet clear how congestion charging will work in Chichester if introduced.

Government is drawing up plans for a national pay-as-you-go road system using a satellite tracking system which monitors journeys.

Target prices range from 2p per mile for driving on a quiet road out of the rush hour to £1.34 for motorways at peak times.

Chichester previously said it would investigate a range of technologies, including the system operated in London where cars are filmed as they drive into the centre and are charged a daily set fee.

Tex Pemberton, cabinet member for transport at the county council, said any congestion zone is likely to target commuters entering the city between 7.30am and 9am in an attempt to avoid a backlash from shoppers.