What Burnley Council boss Mick Cartledge said when asked which restaurants would be coming to Pioneer Place

The £23m. project, which will include a seven-screen cinema and five leisure units, is set to be completed towards the end of next year.

When asked which eateries were being lined up for the complex, Burnley Council leader Mick Cartledge remained tight-lipped, but offered assurances that all the units would be filled.

"I would like to see a mix of national and regional," he said. "I'm not going to say any names – discussions are taking place – and we will make announcements as we secure them.

"But what I am confident about is that we will fill them. I'm not worried about that."

It's been a long, often bumpy, road for those involved in a hugely ambitious project that started out life as the Oval development in the early 2000s.

In 2006, flagship store Debenhams pulled out of talks with developers, and with numerous false dawns since, many in the town felt this was a scheme that would never see the light of day.

Mr Cartledge said it had been "panic stations" on more than one occasion, but staunch commitment from partners, and a lot of hard work behind the scenes, had seen them over the line.

"The number of hurdles we have had to jump to get to this stage – different funding, different construction and design issues, getting different partners on board; it's been a massive job.

"We're so pleased to be here, finally. I know a lot people maybe thought we wouldn't get to this stage, but we have. It's fantastic.

"Looking back on [Debenhams], that was a lucky escape really because town centres that have over provided on retail are really suffering. So, the fact that failed but we then actually created a leisure destination instead; that's the road to success.

"And I know it's one that is really popular with a lot our residents, particularly our younger residents who really want to see this happen.

"It's definitely going to attract more people to the town centre, most definitely. It makes the town centre a real destination, and will increases the dwell time people have here."

Rising construction costs brought on by the pandemic meant councillors had to agree to a scaled back version of the scheme last year, with four retail and leisure units making way for a larger car park.

However, Mr Cartledge said there was still scope for expansion, when the time was right.

"There is the potential for phase two, and I'm sure at some point we will do that. But it's about the right time and the right conditions.

"The leisure market does evolve and change, so there will be new trends that come along and we now have the expansion space for that."