AN immediate boost of £35 million to the district economy will be provided by Kidderminster's extended town centre, it has been claimed.

Developer Centros Miller said research revealed people have £213 million disposable income a year in the Kidderminster catchment area, but only £63 million is currently spent in the town.

It is estimated the new 19.5 acre development - providing 200,000 sq ft of retail space - will immediately attract back £35 million which is going to other shopping centres such as Merry Hill and Worcester.

Centros development manager David Lewis, who is steering the second phase of the Kidderminster scheme, said this was an initial figure, expected to grow as the development matures in coming years.

However, he said he realised the disappointment of those who had hoped for a new cinema and a theatre and arts centre to be incorporated in the plan.

He said: "We have tried and continue to try to find a cinema operator who wants to come to Kidderminster. We have approached a long list of them but the industry has seen a huge expansion in recent years and their criteria has changed."

He added discussions were going on with fledging operator Metroplex which looks at plugging gaps in the cinema market.

"These kind of companies look at putting in cinemas but the operation does involve subsidies by local authorities and we are still talking to them at the moment," he said.

Andrew Dickens, Wyre Forest District Council cultural, leisure and commercial services head, said: "A theatre would cost £700,000 to run and we cannot find the funding or partners.

"But we are looking elsewhere in the district for a scheme that would be less costly and we are still hopeful."