Developer Centros Miller commissioned the poll as part of its planning application for the site – to be submitted in the next few weeks.

According to the results 54% of residents in the city support the proposals to redevelop the former Mitchell's brewery site and nearby car parks into a multi-million pound shopping development.

Twelve per cent said they opposed the scheme, 14% were undecided and 19% had no opinion, according to the ICM telephone survey of 1,000 people.

People were also asked where, other than Lancaster, they went for non-food shopping (clothes, footwear, gifts and small household goods), how often they travelled there and what proportion of their expenditure on clothes and foot-wear was spent there.

The results showed that 64% said they travelled regularly to Preston to shop (43% of whom travel at least monthly or more frequently).

Clear
Regular visits to other shopping centres also included: Kendal (53%); Manchester (47%); Blackpool (28%); and Carlisle (15%).

David Lewis, associate director of Centros Miller, said: "This confirms what we've always believed: a clear majority of local people are keen to see the Canal Corridor site redeveloped to extend Lancaster's centre and provide the range of shopping and other facilities that, in order to compete, the city urgently needs.

"It also shows that the lack of an attractive range of fashion shopping in the city is driving people elsewhere in their thousands."

He added that unless the situation is addressed the 'significant drain of money' would have a detrimental effect on small and independent retailers in Lancaster.

Pressure group It's Our City, which is campaigning against Centros Miller's plans, however, claimed the firm was 'guilty of seriously misrepresenting its survey'.

A spokesperson for the group said they had 'multiple reports' that people were being told – wrongly – that the survey was being carried out on behalf of Lancaster City Council and it was thefore invalid.

"This is yet another example of the utter inadequacy of Centros Miller's 'consultations," they added.