Glassy new look for £200m West Bromwich New Square revamp

The long-awaited scheme has been years in the making and efforts are finally coming to fruition for the mammoth project which will totally transform the town centre.

Pristine new shops are being given their finishing touches, fixtures and fittings ahead of the official opening on July 11.

And for the first time, it is possible to see how the landmark co-anchor stores of Tesco Extra and Primark will look against the town centre backdrop.

Hundreds of jobs are being created by the scheme which is being led by Tesco's regeneration arm Spenhill. The eye-catching blue-coloured two-storey Primark store dominates the West Bromwich skyline, with its quirky panel design.

The company has begun the fit-out of its new 50,000 sq ft store ready for its grand opening in the autumn. The huge Tesco Extra store features a wooden and glass entrance and the iconic Tesco signage.

The car park at the site will also have the latest technology – using ticketless state-of-the-art digital equipment cars will be tracked on their way in and out.

Meanwhile the light and airy shopping mall areas, set to become a haven for shoppers, are lined by big name stores such as Next, Outfit, Bank, JD Sports, Deichmann and Phones4U, all of which are due to open on Thursday. Meanwhile, pedestrianised areas are also seeing the final touches and landscapers have installed two huge 'living' walls in the central piazza.

A variety of shrubs are being planted within the two 26ft-high walls, providing natural colour and foliage all-year round.

The walls, developed by Tesco's appointed architects, Haskoll, have been designed to create green space in the scheme. Councillor Darren Cooper, leader of Sandwell Council, said: "The living wall helps us to create extra green spaces which are important for creating habitats and enhancing enjoyment for visitors."

Businesses have clamoured to sign up to the scheme with a host of retail and restaurant chains part of the development.

Poundworld and Greggs were today announced as the latest tenants, while visitors can also enjoy Chinese buffet restaurant chain Real China, Nandos, Prezzo, Harvester and Costa.

Sports Direct has also signed up to take on a unit. The whole development is expected to create around 1,200 jobs, and recruitment is well under way for the development. More than 5,000 people applied for just 275 new jobs at the Tesco store alone.

Steve Burr, centre manager for the New Square development, said: "The centre is a real hub of activity at the moment as many of the retailers, restaurants and Odeon cinema prepare for the grand opening. Primark is scheduled to open later on in the year, but the team is already working in earnest to get the store ready for launch."

Shoppers who spend £5 or more in Tesco will get two hours free car parking, while visitors that do not shop in Tesco will be charged 80p per hour.

Matthew Magee, corporate affairs manager for Tesco, said: "Our intention is to make the whole shopping experience at New Square as enjoyable and easy as possible. The technology around car parking has moved on and this means the brand new destination will benefit from a quick and efficient system, designed to make parking simple."