First view of new shopping centre

Developers Henry Boot have drawn up outline plans for the scheme, which will go before councillors next month.

Final stage negotiations are under way with a leading department store, believed to be Debenhams, which would act as the anchor store for the 250,000sq ft complex.

Other high street names rumoured to be interested in securing a slot in the development include Gap, Next, and H&M.

The Oval will include a flagship department store, 22 two-storey shop units, space for restaurants and bars, and an oval public space to replace the town's Peace Gardens, featuring an outdoor cinema screen.

It has been hailed by town centre bosses as Burnley's biggest-ever development.

Seven stores in Curzon Street also face being knocked down to make room for the centre on the former Pioneer Co-op site, along with the former county court building. The red-brick building in Bankhouse Street has been empty since the court moved to the Burnley Crown Court complex, in Hammerton Street, more than 10 years ago.

The developer is aiming to submit a planning application for the development, expected to create 400 jobs, in the next couple of weeks. If that is approved, construction could start in the summer of 2007, and the complex could be completed by autumn the following year.

Simon Dew, regional manager of Henry Boot Developments North West, said: "The proposed development will attract new retailers into the town centre rather than moving existing shops. There are many national retailers missing from Burnley town centre.

"This is partly because the town lacks a department store but also because there are simply too few shops that match the needs of modern retailers in terms of size and location.

"The new development will resolve this shortfall and in turn attract new shoppers to Burnley, preventing leakage to other rival town centres."

The development will provide approximately 500 car parking spaces compared to the existing 220 on the Pioneer site.