Construction work on an £80m leisure development in southwest Leicestershire is to begin next month, with the project aiming to regenerate Hinckley town centre.

The Crescent development, a joint project by the Tin Hat Regeneration Partnership and Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council, will see the construction of a Sainsbury's supermarket with an integrated car park and a five-screen Cineworld multiplex cinema, along with new shops and family restaurants.

The project is earmarked to open in autumn 2015, with Bowmer & Kirkland chosen to carry out construction work at the site, based on designs from TP Bennett architects.

The long-running project has not been without issues though, with Sainsbury’s threatening to pull out of the development at one point last year, while The Tin Hat Partnership was also helped out by the Borough Council, which invested £7m in the form of a short-term rolling loan to push the project forward.

“This is great news for people in the town,” said Hinckley and Bosworth Council leader Stuart Bray.

“Hinckley’s long awaited five-screen cinema will soon be a reality. Now we can expect to see work happening on the ground within weeks.”

Will Robinson of the Tin Hat Partnership has also revealed the group’s excitement in relation to the start of the construction: “We are delighted to have reached this stage in partnership with the council. This is a very exciting scheme for the town, and we now look forward to delivering it.”

The project is now set to undergo construction from Monday 2 June, with planning approved last December.