BUILDING work on a £50million shopping complex in Burnley could start in summer next year.

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

A public consultation will also be held on the plans.

Final stage negotiations are underway 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 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, by the end of March. If that is approved, construction could start in the summer of 2007, and the complex could be completed by autumn the following year.

The Co-op store, which stood on the site, closed in January 2001 with the loss of 60 jobs. It was demolished after the North West Development Agency gave a £1.8million grant to buy back the long-term lease from the Co-op so that Burnley Council could be the sole owners.