The 95,000 sq ft scheme was first approved in 2004 but the complexity of building a large superstore in the town centre had delayed work.

Cheshire-based Castlewood Developments are behind the scheme, and one of the company’s owners, surveyor Robert Shaw, said the development cost had risen from around £30m to £40m since it was first proposed.

He said: “We are hoping work will start in early 2008, and the idea is the supermarket will complement and boost other stores at the other end of the shopping centre.

He said the scheme had taken much longer than anyone had expected because it had been important to minimise disruption to existing businesses while work on the new development takes place.