Traders have welcomed plans for a new retail guide which aims to attract shoppers to Oxford.

City centre management company OX1 hopes to launch the shopping directory in July.

Chief executive Bill McCardle said the move was in response to requests by visitors.

Yesterday, the Oxford Mail reported the findings of a consultants' study for Oxford City Council warning that the city could lose shoppers to other centres, including Reading and Milton Keynes.

The report said Oxford desperately needed more floorspace and emphasised the importance of redeveloping the Westgate Shopping Centre.

It is hoped the new guide will help shoppers maximise their visits to the city centre.

Mr McCardle said: "It is just another way of improving the city centre. We are working with all the shops to come up with a plan. I have been talking to the tourist information centre and they said they always get asked for shopping guides."

The guide will include a comprehensive list of city centre shops, a brief history of Oxford, parking and park-and-ride information. It may also feature details about bars and restaurants.

Many city centre traders have welcomed the guide. Jo Ryding, manager of children's shop Two Foot Nothing in the Covered Market, said: "There are so many different areas of Oxford, a map or guide saying where we are and what is here is going to be helpful.

"Anything to help Oxford, after all the work down Cornmarket Street and the problems with traffic being redirected, would be good. We need to encourage people to come back to Oxford."

Westgate shopping centre deputy manager Debbie Blauk said: "Hopefully, it would also include traders' hours so people know which shops are open or closed during late-night shopping."

Clee Smith, manager of DNA in St Michael's Street, said it would be useful to distribute the guide at key points around the city centre.

She said: "I think it is a good idea, but it depends if it is done well. Not all people who visit Oxford go to the tourist information centre. The guide should be in restaurants, cafes and shops."

Jenny Lundberg, of The Glass House clothing store in High Street, said it could help promote independent shops.

Gary Whittaker, store manager for Debenhams, said: "This is a very positive initiative, and could potentially be a great help for locals and visitors alike. Anything that benefits our customers and makes their shopping experience both easy and pleasurable is extremely important to Debenhams and we would actively encourage it."

City councillor Paul Sargent said it would prove very useful, but he added: "I think it should be an online guide because a hard copy would be hard to distribute."