A NEW Lidl superstore, ten-screen Cineworld cinema and Travelodge hotel are part of plans to boost Burgess Hill.

Developer NewRiver has made major strides forward in its £65 million redevelopment of the town centre which will be completed by 2020.

It has announced two milestones which will allow work to begin shortly on the regeneration project.

First, it has exchanged contracts with Delph Property Group, a well-established family run residential investment company, to purchase the 142 new residential units within the redevelopment for £34 million.

NewRiver says this significantly de-risks the redevelopment which has projected base construction costs of £47 million.

It has also exchanged contracts with Lidl for the sale of the site on Leylands Road where the supermarket’s new store will be located.

Last week NewRiver exchanged contracts with Mid Sussex District Council for a new Head Lease of the Martlets Shopping Centre, enabling NewRiver to have full rights to regenerate the shopping centre site.

Development director Justin Thomas said: “This is a significant step in turning our vision for Burgess Hill town centre into a reality, breathing new life into the area and creating a vibrant and exciting shopping, dining and leisure destination that the local community can enjoy.

“This is the start of a phased programme to rejuvenate Burgess Hill and bring people, jobs and opportunities back to the heart of the town.

“Following the exchange of these contracts, we can now carry out our carefully planned and managed programme of works, starting with the demolition of the gas tower on Leylands Road and provision of a temporary library.

“We are committed to keeping the local community updated throughout the programme.”

Phase one includes the provision of a temporary library and the demolition of the gas tower on the Leylands Road site.

It is anticipated that preliminary works to clear the site will commence this week.

Rocking Horse Antiques will relocate to a new premise to facilitate the temporary Burgess Hill Library.

The programme is being carefully managed to ensure there is no break in library services for the local community, with the temporary library remaining open from mid-2018.

As well as new homes, the rejuvenated town centre will offer a 10-screen multiplex Cineworld, a 63-bed Travelodge hotel, an improved public realm and a new purpose-built library for the Council.

This will be significantly enhanced by an exciting new shopping and dining offer, featuring popular fashion brands and restaurants including Next, Nando’s and restaurant brand Wildwood.