AFTER years of negotiations, Eastleigh council has finally achieved agreement on construction of a massive town centre entertainment complex.

The council had been trying for years to get all the parties to sign on the dotted line and at last all the signatures are in place.

The complex will include the first cinema in Eastleigh since the Regal in Market Street closed in 1980.

It will also include a 20-lane bowling alley, restaurants, bars and shops.

To be housed in an extension to the Swan Shopping Centre, the £24m development is set to revolutionise the evening atmosphere in the town centre.

The ink will barely be dry on the contracts before construction starts. Builders are due on the site on Monday, July 9, and the target date for completion is towards the end of next year.

The site is the Tesco car park on the east side of the shopping centre, between it and Southampton Road.

The Tesco car park will close from July 9. The Swan Centre rooftop car parks will remain open but access to them will be from Blenheim Road, and not the ramp at the junction of Southampton Road and Wells Place.

The council was suggesting that a deal was imminent as early as May 2003.

On the current breakthrough, council leader, Keith House, said: "We've been working closely with Prupim (the Swan Centre management company) and Cordwell for several years to bring together the biggest investment in our town centre for nearly 20 years.

"With new restaurants, cafés and extra shops linking into the Swan Shopping Centre, Eastleigh's evenings will be all the brighter now that people won't have to trek to other towns for entertainment."

Prupim said the 125,000 sq ft development would see the arrival of several national brands, transforming the town's shopping and leisure experience.

The firm, which looks after the shopping centre on behalf of Prudential, described the scheme as "a contemporary, open air complex".

Property developer, Cordwell, has been working with the owners and Eastleigh Borough Council to deliver the scheme and has already secured the arrival of Vue Cinemas and AMF Bowling, in addition to restaurant operators Nandos and Frankie & Benny's.

Dee Buffone, manager of the Swan Shopping Centre, said: "It will be a big economic boost for the town and the presence of national brands, which previously didn't exist, will bring vibrancy and added appeal for future retailers."