PLANS to create a new Bordon town centre have been submitted to East Hampshire District Council.

The scheme - which includes shopping, leisure, office and residential buildings - is set to open in 2020 on land next to Budds Lane and the A325.

The Whitehill & Bordon Regeneration Company - a merger between developers Dorchester and Taylor Wimpey - plans to include a six-screen cinema.

As well as the cinema, the first phase of the new town centre will include up to 27 new shops and restaurants across 71,000 square feet; a 20,000 square-foot supermarket; a theatre; a start-up business hub; 19,000 square feet of office space; an indoor marketplace; a heritage centre and 178 new apartments.

Buildings will be set in “new landscaped public spaces and gardens”, along with a town-centre square.

In a statement, the Regeneration Company said conversations were “at an advanced stage” with “national operators to occupy the supermarket and the cinema”, with the “retail and leisure opportunities expected to attract a mixture of national and local retailers”.

“Discussions are also ongoing with a supplier to integrate smart-living technology across the town centre and wider town itself,” the Regeneration Company added.

“The new town centre forms part of Prince Philip Park, which on completion will feature: 2,400 new homes; a new secondary school; an extended primary school; a sports pavilion and pitches; a hotel and spa; one of the biggest natural spaces of its kind in the UK and a number of new health facilities, surrounded by some of the most attractive landscape in Hampshire.

“Beyond the main hub of the town will be a variety of commercial zones that will attract a range of industries, from technology and science to film.”

The developer said it was in talks with the Nicholas James Group (based in Christchurch), owner of Harbour Hotels, to help deliver the new town centre and was taking advice from KLM Retail (London).

Regeneration Company director Lee Bishop added: “Prince Philip Park is part of one of the most exciting, innovative and largest regeneration projects in the UK, that will create one of the largest towns in Hampshire.

“It will be one of the most desirable places to live, work and play in the region and the newly built town centre will not only act as the focus point of the new community, but will draw in visitors from across the county, including many of its most affluential villages.

“Prince Philip Park town centre provides a platform for retailers and leisure operators to reach an ABC1 audience and be part of a technologically advanced consumer experience.”

Ferris Cowper, the district council’s portfolio holder for Whitehill and Bordon, said: “The new town centre is going to be the jewel in the crown of Whitehill and Bordon’s regeneration. It will give the town a thriving core - a place where people can meet for work or for leisure, a place to shop, to walk, to grab a bite to eat or to catch a movie or a show.

“These exciting plans are the cornerstone of our work in Whitehill and Bordon and will be one of the most important, most transformative steps we take in its development. I can’t wait for people to see them.”

Subject to approval, work will begin in the spring of 2018, with an expected completion towards the end of 2019.