THE ground work is being laid for a major £77 million facelift to Penrith town centre.

Preliminary work on the New Squares retail and housing development has begun with excavations taking place at the Southend Road Inner car park.

A spokesman for Eden District Council said the initial trench-digging work did not herald the beginning of construction at the site but was preparatory works that had to be carried out to enable engineers to analyse the soil at the site before the development could begin in earnest.

"There is also an opportunity for the area of land to be checked for archaeological finds, prior to undertaking the proposed major changes to the car park," he said.

The New Squares development will see a new Sainsbury's supermarket, a multi-storey car park, 200 homes and more than 30 shops built in the Southend Road area of the town.

The Sainsbury's superstore is set to create 250 jobs and, it is hoped, will provide a boost to the town's economy.

The development also plans for the four squares in the town centre to be used for outdoor events such as markets.

The spokesman also said that the work would reduce the availability of parking bays in the inner car park for several weeks.