The idea of moving the bus station to the Mere Park car park was supported by passengers waiting to board buses.

Most felt the car park already had good facilities the bus station could not offer, especially public toilets, but also children's play areas in the park that could keep youngsters occupied while waiting for buses.

Teresa Williams, 48, from Long Stratton, said she often travelled in by bus to Diss to catch the connecting bus into Ipswich for her job at Primark.

She added: 'Bringing the bus station nearer to the town centre, it would be much better than what we have got at the moment.'

Gina Barham, 22, of Maple Way, Eye said the existing station created problems for bus drivers getting in and out of the site because of the heavy traffic on Park Road.

She uses the bus station four times a week to get into work, adding: 'Everything's pretty much on the Mere Park side already if you are coming into town.'

Hazel Libbiatt, 63, from Homersfield, said she had problems knowing which bus she needed to catch because the information boards at the current station were not very clear and she had to watch the number to make sure it was the right one.

She liked the presence of toilets on the car park site, adding: 'It sounds pretty good, as long as the toilets are open for people to actually be able to use them.'

She travelled via Diss to get to other towns, such as Great Yarmouth, Norwich and Ipswich.

Emma Byrne, 31, from Redgrave, supported the move because her daughter Olivia, one, would have somewhere to play.

She added: 'For me personally, having the bus station over at the park would be better because I would be able to sit in the park while my little one played over there. It is really hard to keep her entertained when you have got half an hour to wait.'

She was also unhappy with the cleanliness of the benches in the shelter at the current station and hoped a new shelter would be added with better benches if the station moved to the car park.

South Norfolk councillors representing Diss are looking into the possibility of moving the bus station from its current Park Road site across the road to the South Norfolk Council-owned car park at Mere Park to enable it to cope with future demand and remove the need for people to cross Park Road to get to the town centre.

What benefits would moving the bus station bring to Diss? Email dominic.bareham@archant.co.uk