WORK on a new leisure complex in the town centre is making steady progress.

The former Swindon College site in Regent Circus is a hive of activity as construction continues.

Its shape is now becoming clearer, with the frame of the second building going up and the top of the supermarket being fitted.

When completed, the site will house a Morrisons, a Cineworld cinema and a host of restaurants.

As the building work progresses so are efforts to fill any of the remaining empty units.

James Digby, a director at Ashfield Land who are the site developers, says everything is on track and by this time next year the people of Swindon will be able to enjoy the facility.

He said: “As it stands everything is going to plan.

“The roof of the supermarket section is nearly on and we have started work on the second part which will house the cinema and restaurants.

“You can now see the outline of the cinema in the frame.

“We are on schedule to be able to hand everything over at Easter to be fitted out ready to open in October.”

A number of restaurants have already signed up to take a place in the complex. Prezzo, Coal, Nando’s and Ask will all be filling the units.

There are a still a number of unfilled spaces but James says he hopes to announce more big name restaurants soon.

He said: “We will be announcing a further restaurant later this week. There will be a few more, so effectively we are now full.

“I think everyone will be really pleased with it when it opens.”

Ashfield Land first purchased the land in 2007 but due to problems in the market there were long delays in getting work off the ground.

Construction of the £50mproject is being carried out by ISG, who started the building work last month.

When completed the supermarket will be approximately 52,000sq ft and the leisure complex will be 30,000sq ft.

The final section of the development will be a 450-space multi-storey car park.

It is hoped when complete it will bring in shoppers to the town centre, increasing trade.

Recently, a number of residents gave their approval to the site, agreeing that when completed it will be a boost to the area.