Movie fans will have to wait another two years before a town's first multiplex cinema opens its doors.

Developers have completed the proposed layout of the complex, which will be built on two acres of land between Banbury's Cherwell Street and George Street, and handed a detailed planning application to Cherwell District Council.

The earliest that film lovers, who have been waiting for the cinema since it was granted outline planning permission in 1998, will see the big screen is at Easter 2002.

The plan includes a seven-screen cinema with 1,650 seats, a 480-space multi-storey car park, health and fitness studio, night club, restaurants and bars. The fate of the project will be decided by the council's planning committee, possibly at its meeting in June. If it is approved, work will start in Easter 2001.

Planning control manager Duncan Chadwick said: "This is an exciting leisure development. It will be another valuable facility for Banbury, along with the Castle Quay centre.

"We want it to look right. It is a big building, but we are trying to make it as attractive as possible. We are keen to progress the plan without problems."