ASKING new shops looking to move to Cheltenham to consider stopping use of plastic bags could put good traders off moving to the town, a Cheltenham shopping centre boss has said.

Regent Arcade manager John Forward said he supported efforts to reduce plastic bag usage, but the onus should be on shoppers.

Cheltenham Borough Council's cabinet discussed how to cut down on carriers at a meeting this week.

The council's environment watchdog wants more to be done to banish the bags.

Green campaigners have long spoken out against plastic carrier bags, which cannot be recycled and take hundreds of years to break down if they are sent to landfill.

The Devon village of Modbury hit the headlines in 2007 after its 43 shops agreed to stop using them.

One of the suggestions put forward by the borough council is to look at introducing new guidance about bag policies for future shop developments.

Councillor Penny Hall, chairman of the environment overview and scrutiny committee, said the debate by councillors last month on the issue, was the liveliest she had witnessed.

She said members asked that companies be asked about their use of plastic bags as part of the planning process, but this would be for information only rather than a deciding factor in an application.

Councillor Roger Whyborn (LD, Up Hatherley) said: "Anything we can do to get plastic bags out of the waste stream would be very welcome."

Mr Forward said this would only put retailers off moving to the town.

"It is tough enough at the moment getting retailers to come into Cheltenham, to introduce planning guidance would be another stumbling block," he said.

"They can ask retailers about their policy but what are they going to do?

"I would be very concerned if we stuck a clause to planning applications that you will be rejected if you use carrier bags. That is a very dangerous route to go down."

Regent Arcade has been giving away its own free bags-for-life in exchange for carrier bags that are then recycled.

The scheme is so popular, they have run out of bags.

He said: "It is not so much the retailers' fault. They would be pleased not to have to give out bags because it costs them money, but a lot of it is down to public demand.

"When I go to the supermarket I take my bag-for-life with me because I know I will have a lot of shopping but if you are going on a spur-of-the-moment trip you don't always have a bag with you."

He said he had noticed a significant decline in the use of plastic bags.

Major fashion chain H&M is planning to open a store in Cheltenham this year.

Spokesman Laura Maggs said the company had done a lot of research on the use of plastic bags.

She said: "We use recycled plastic bags and we also have a bag-for-life. It is something we have focused a lot of attention on and we try and be as sustainable as possible."