A major shopping centre redevelopment is set to begin next summer.
Mid Sussex District Council have reached a conditional agreement with the owners of the Martlets Shopping Centre in Burgess Hill to begin redeveloping the centre in the summer of 2026.
The agreement, with owners NewRiver Reit plc, will commence if key conditions are satisfied.
The announcement marks a significant milestone in a project which has been almost two decades in the making, the council said.
Proposals to redevelop the now largely empty centre were put forward as early as 2006.
However, they have since been redrawn multiple times after running into issues including a lack of available funding and the Covid pandemic.
Permissions for a redevelopment were approved in 2016 and included a cinema, hotel, gym, shops, and 142 flats.
In 2019 the Martlets Hall entertainment venue was demolished, with plans approved for a less retail-focused venture approved in 2021.
Amended proposals again involving a cinema, hotel, gym and a bowling alley, along with 172 residential units, were approved in August 2025.
The council said the agreement has been signed in the face of tough commercial conditions in the construction and retail markets.
Updates about the project will be available at midsussex.gov.uk.