A 'huge milestone' for Bicester was reached this week after a planning application for a new £70m town centre was submitted.

The proposals include a six-screen, 900-seat cinema, a 40,000sq ft Sainsbury's, a 525-space two-storey car park and up to 25 new restaurants and shops.

Andrew Fulljames, Cherwell District Council's property and regeneration portfolio holder, said: "This is a very exciting day for Bicester. Now we have the planning application we hope to determine it within 13 weeks."

The application, submitted by Deddington-based developer Stockdale Land, was registered with Cherwell on Monday after five years of discussions about redeveloping Bicester's town centre.

Mr Fulljames said: "It has been longer than we possibly expected, there've been issues we have had to deal with. The land assembly has been one of the greatest challenges - the purchase of the various pieces of land. We are finally here, we really are delighted we have got to this point. We need a proper town centre with a lot of vitality.

"People in Bicester often say Banbury seems to get everything but we are determined Bicester gets its fair share."

The plans also include a civic centre and a new library, three times the size of the current one, and two new public squares on a five-acre site between Sheep Street and Manorsfield Road.

A new walkway lined with restaurants and shops will run parallel to Sheep Street, from Crown Walk to Wesley Lane.

John Liggins, Stockdale's managing director, said: "We would like to be able to start work on site at the end of this year. We are all working together to minimise disruption and make sure we can construct and open the scheme as fast as we can.

"Bicester is growing dramatically. The town has very few facilities for a town of its size. We are aiming to try to finish at the end of 2009 or beginning of 2010."

Mr Liggins added his company planned to tackle the project in two phases.

The first stage would involve diverting the town brook to the opposite side of Manorsfield Road and building a new bus interchange.

After this, Mr Liggins said the rest of the development would be constructed in one go.

Cherwell District Council owns most of the land, with Stockdale as the second largest land owner.

Mr Liggins added: "We are in discussions with the last few remaining people with interests in the land."

He said the project was expected to create up to 800 new full and part time jobs in the town centre.

David Simpson, president of Bicester Chamber of Commerce, said: "This is extremely important for the development of Bicester. It represents a huge milestone for the town and the town will benefit enormously in the long term.

"We are doubling the size of the retail space available in the town centre. Let's get on with it - we have been waiting a long time."