A multi million pound redevelopment of Alexandria town centre- including a new supermarket, housing and retail units- has taken its first steps.

Supermarket giant Lidl have announced plans to build a new store in the area with the potential to create up to 40 new jobs.

And there are also plans for up to 26 new social rent apartments- and a 10-store retail parade.

Work on the new store, if approved, could start in Spring 2018.

CCG (Scotland) Ltd and Lidl UK have today submitted a pre-application notice to West Dunbartonshire Council ahead of a future planning application for the retail and residential redevelopment of the Mitchell Way site in Alexandria Town Centre.

Working in partnership with architects Cooper Cromar and Glasgow based developers Kinsgmead Developments, the proposed project consists of a Lidl Discount Supermarket, a 10 store retail parade and a 26 apartment flatted development for social rent.

CCG development manager, Bruce Lindsay, said: “The proposed application is an important milestone in the redevelopment of the town of Alexandria and an exciting first for CCG. The Group has extensive experience in delivery of mixed use projects, particularly with affordable housing, but having Lidl as our operator/partner is a welcome new step.

“CCG is presently on-site at Second Avenue, Clydebank, with a further affordable housing scheme comprising of 40 units on behalf of the Council and we are proud to continue our work in this area to bring quality, affordable housing and additional facilities to the people of West Dunbartonshire.”

The proposed new Lidl store, which will be located on Bank Street as part of the proposed redevelopment of Alexandria’s town centre represents a multi-million pound investment in the local area.

Lidl has committed to building a c.2,000m² store on a 10,693m² site, with plans to create up to 40 new jobs.

The supermarket will boast state of the art facilities including an instore bakery, customer toilets and ample parking for both cars and bicycles.

Lidl UK’s head of property for Scotland, Gordon Rafferty, said: “We are delighted to be opening a new store in Alexandria, which marks another milestone in our ambitious store expansion programme. We’ve seen incredible demand for Lidl stores across the country and look forward to offering our quality products and incredible value to shoppers in and around Alexandria.

“We are firmly committed to helping boost the local economy by creating new jobs and working with local suppliers in the construction of the new store. The planned store in Alexandria will add to Lidl’s existing store portfolio of 650, and will form part of the company’s growth plans which hope to see this increase to 1,500 store in the future.”

CCG and Lidl UK will soon announce a date for a public consultation where plans will be presented to the community of Alexandria.

Feedback will then be used to take the plans forward to enable a spring-2018 site start.