A consultants' report has concluded there is no "need" for a new Tesco supermarket at Ashton Gate in Bristol.

It also says it was "likely" that a new Tesco store at the site of Bristol City's stadium would have "a moderate adverse impact on Bedminster".

The report, by Clifton firm DPDS Regional Ltd, was drawn up on behalf of the city council's planning department which wanted a technical assessment carried out on the plan submitted by Bristol City FC.

The club wants to build a new £65m stadium at nearby Ashton Vale but it needs to redevelop the existing ground to help raise the funding.

The report will form part of a large number of surveys and documents which will help councillors decide in November whether to give planning consent.

The consultants conclude: "The council will have to weigh the public benefits of the new stadium against the harm to vitality and viability of Bedminster town centre."

Their report says: "We do not accept that there is a qualitative need for another such store.

"There are two very large food stores nearby and while the proposal would offer some increased choice..it would not add to the type of retail facilities available to local residents."

The report assessed the possible impact on existing shops and traders in the area.

It says "We have concluded that a moderate adverse impact on Bedminster town centre is likely.

"This is, in our view, inevitable given the size and location of the proposed food store.

"It would not result in the widespread closure of shop units, but would tend to strengthen trends which are operating against the commercial health of centres such as Bedminster and make regeneration more difficult to achieve."

The consultants believe there would be "no overall increase in retail jobs in the area and minor indirect losses to the local economy through the loss of local spending by smaller retail businesses. There would be the creation of the construction jobs."

Tom Griffin, spokesman for the pressure group, Berate, which is opposing the supermarket plan, said: "This backs up what we have been saying all along about their being no need for a new superstore in this area and the impacts that a new store would have on existing shops.

"It looks like the councillors on the committee will be asked to decide if the impacts identified in this report are outweighed by the benefits claimed for the new stadium.

"We still maintain that these two applications should be dealt with as separate issues, and it is unfair to ask people to choose between long-term damage to their area and providing a new sports stadium."

Bristol City FC chief executive Colin Sextone said: "It really comes down to this. As things stand at the moment, no foodstore means no stadium.

"I cannot put it more plainly than that.

"Saying no to these two developments will mean saying no to 800 jobs and no to the regeneration of an area of Bristol which has been neglected for too long.

"We cannot afford to miss out on this fantastic opportunity which is unlikely to come this way again for generations."

The club says that traders in North Street would continue to do well if a new store was built.

It says three-quarters of the 343 retail units in Bedminster would have no trade overlap with the proposed supermarket.

Of the remaining 25 per cent, 10 are convenience stores run by national chains (two by Tesco).

A total of 33 shops with some overlap are at the Asda end of Bedminster, where they are already competing successfully with a large, established supermarket.

Council spokeswoman Helen Hewitt confirmed that the consultants were asked by the council's planning department to carry out the technical assessment.

She said this was normal procedure and part of the planning process.

She said copies of their report, which is a public document, had been sent to the developers and Berate.