A DATE has been set for bulldozers to move into Bicester to start the town centre’s long-awaited redevelopment.

Workmen from builders Bowmer and Kirkland will move onto the site on January 9 and bulldozers will start work on January 30.

Cherwell District Council and Sainsbury’s confirmed the start date as Apollo Cinemas also confirmed its role in the £70m project.

The new development, including a Sainsbury’s supermarket, cinema, bus interchange, shops, restaurants and decked parking, will be built over Bure Place and Crown Walk car parks, and is due to open in summer 2013.

Both Crown Walk and Bure Place car parks will close in January and bus stops will be relocated to North Street and Market Square.

Apollo managing director Rob Arthur said the long-awaited seven-screen cinema would have the latest visual and audio technology.

He said: “Opening a brand new cinema in Bicester is an exciting development for Apollo.

“It is our hope that the cinema, upon completion, will become an entertainment hub for the local community.”

The redevelopment will create about 600 jobs, including up to 200 people in the building phase.

Sainsbury’s project manager Paul Tyler said the supermarket would create up to 300 jobs, and recruitment would start in 2013.

He said: “The town centre redevelopment is an exciting project for Sainsbury’s and we are really looking forward to becoming an active member of the Bicester community for many years to come.

“It is great to finally be at a stage where we can commence the main building phase of the project, which will breathe new life into Bicester town centre for residents and traders alike, while creating hundreds of new jobs”.

The announcement has been welcomed by community leaders.

Norman Bolster, the district council’s lead member for estates and economic development, said: “I’m sure everyone in the Bicester area is excited about the prospect of a new cinema opening in the near future.

“It will mean residents will not have to travel elsewhere to see the newest films and will be a big draw for visitors, which I am sure will delight the town’s traders.

“With recruitment for 300 jobs set to start against a national backdrop of increasing unemployment, this development is fantastic news.”

Ben Jackson, chairman of the Bicester Chamber of Commerce, said: “The cinema, once completed, will add a missing piece to the leisure puzzle in Bicester.

“ It will help hold people in the town, which can only be good for the local businesses as well as the residents.”