Builders have arrived on site to begin the preparations for a multi-million pound town centre cinema complex.

Diggers and plant material have been gathering at the former Ashford market site in Elwick Place opposite the County Square Shopping Centre.

The complex was granted planning permission at the end of 2015, and in November last year Ashford Borough Council confirmed that contracts had been signed.

It is believed that the new scheme could create 250 jobs, 81 of which will be for the construction and related trades.

Now bosses say work is set to start imminently on the £75 million facilities, which will include eight cinema screens, a 60-bedroom hotel, and eight restaurants.

It is the third major construction project to get under way in the town centre, with the new £30 million college building nearly complete and work well under way at the site of the Commercial Quarter in Dover Place.

Ashford Borough Council (ABC) will be earning a rental income from the cinema operator Picturehouse, which is a subsidiary company of Cineworld, which runs the complex at the Eureka Leisure Park.

Last month ABC leader Gerry Clarkson said: “The range and scale of achievement of our Big Eight projects shows what a combination of strong political direction and officers’ endeavour can achieve.

“We believe in action, not words, and as we can all clearly see, great progress has been made over the last two years.

“There is still more we can do, but I hope residents, businesses, and visitors can take great heart from the many projects and exciting developments coming forward that will all have a positive effect on future economic prosperity.”

Meanwhile, work on the other side of the railway in Victoria Road is also set to begin imminently.

Work there will include a £1.7 million brewery visitor centre for Chapel Down, an Aldi supermarket, a 120-bedroom hotel, and three separate developments of flats.