Top names on the way to West Bromwich development

More top retailers have signed up to West Bromwich's £200 million Tesco development creating scores of new jobs, the Express & Star can reveal today.

Next, JD Sports, Bank and Outfit will all open at the new town centre complex, which will include shops, restaurants and a cinema. It was also revealed that the shopping centre will be called New Square.

It follows the news this week that budget fashion chain Primark will open a major store at the site, creating 200 new jobs.

The multi-million pound scheme, anchored by a 144,000 sq ft Tesco Extra store, is one of the largest regeneration programmes taking place in the UK at the moment.

Set to open in spring 2013, the major shopping and leisure destination will transform the face of the town centre under a regeneration project that will create more than 2,000 jobs.

Councillor Ian Jones, cabinet member for jobs and economy at Sandwell Council, welcomed today's announcement. He said: "This is a further example of the commitment of Sandwell Council and Tesco to bring in quality retailers into West Bromwich and the high quality development that is going to be created will not only bring around 2,500 jobs into the borough, but will also bring tens, if not hundreds of thousands of clients to shop in West Bromwich which can only be good news for the economy and it indicates our partnership with Tesco over many years."

The regeneration of West Bromwich also includes the creation of the new £25m A41 underpass, the new £77m Sandwell College, the £6.3m restoration work in Dartmouth Park and £10m new police station.

The new development had originally been due to open by Christmas 2012, but it will now open in early 2013.