Contracts have now been signed for the 400,000 sq ft project which is at the heart of the Cheshire town.

Debenhams will be the retail anchor tenant, with a 75,000 sq ft department store, and a national cinema operator has agreed to take an eight-screen cinema in the development.

Emma Newman, development manager at Wilson Bowden Developments, said: “We are receiving strong interest from a number of other national retailers who are currently not represented in Macclesfield.”