Construction work has commenced on a new £15m retail and leisure scheme in Swadlincote, Derbyshire, which will include a five-screen Curzon cinema.

Rokeby Developments and Peveril Securities are leading the development, which will occupy 112,000sq ft (10,405sq m) of floor space and include a number of retail outlets. The scheme, which comprises the former Wraggs Pipes and Hepworth's production plant site, is expected to generate an additional £20m for the local economy each year.

A £4m restoration of the old Hepworth's chimneys also forms part of the project, while four former factory buildings are to be retained to provide the heart of a new restaurant quarter. Rokeby Developments managing director Adrian Goodall said: "We expect to have handed over a finished scheme to tenants for fit-out by July of next year and expect it will be trading by Christmas 2011.

"This scheme will play a major role in the regeneration of Swadlincote by encouraging people to work and shop in the town instead of leaving the locality."