PHOTOS show the first signs of a structure being built at a major development site for a new superstore and 600 homes.

The steel girders being installed near the A27 in Lancing will form a new access bridge to the New Monks Park development.

A highway bridge will connect the site to the A27 with a new four-arm roundabout.

The major development will see the area transformed, with an Ikea store, a 28 hectare country park and land for a new primary school, as well as hundreds of houses and apartments.

The patch of land where the girders are being built sits near the former Withy Patch Gypsy and Traveller Site, which had been used to house travellers since the late 1980s.

The Argus:

Last year the developer agreed to pay for residents to be moved from the site to a new plot to make way for the new access road.

The first homes at the development went on sale to prospective buyers earlier this year, as building work progresses on the first batch of homes near the Mash Barn estate.

However restrictions in the contract mean a maximum of 249 homes can be occupied before the A27 access roundabout roadworks are completed.

The Argus:

Cala Homes said prices range between £335,000 and almost £700,000, depending on the size of the property.

A detached three-bedroom home costs between £485,000 and £525,000, while a detached, four-bedroom property with a garage and parking spaces will set you back £690,000.

New owners could potentially move in by the autumn, subject to building progress.

The Argus: An artist's impression of one of the detached homes at the siteAn artist's impression of one of the detached homes at the site

Cala Homes, which has developed the scheme in collaboration with New Monks Farm Ltd, describes the development as a "stunning new residential community" and said there has been a high level of interest in the properties.

The residential development, which is just over a mile away from Lancing beach, will also include neighbouring play areas and a community centre.