GMI Rovinian claim they have "bigger and better" plans for Clay Cross than first submitted and put them on public display for the first time at two exhibitions in the town last week.

The new £22m plans – which has a Tesco Extra superstore the size of two football pitches at its heart – feature two changes from the original, including the creation of a public open space as a focal point for the town, with small retail outlets, seating and landscaping.

A new pedestrian boulevard will pay tribute to the town's history, following the line of the Clay Cross railway tunnel to link the existing town centre with the new development.

Speaking at the exhibition, Tom Gilman, from GMI, said: "We are trying to revamp the scheme to fit with modern practices and modern traffic flows and it is greener and will benefit pedestrians.

"We have looked at the whole scheme and said 'it's ten years old – let's modernise it and make it better'."

The main aim of the scheme is to entice more people back into Clay Cross to do their shopping so the Tesco petrol station has been relocated on a new roundabout that will link the A61 with Bridge Street and the new scheme and the Tesco store is being made larger.

Mr Gilman said: "Currently, 75 per cent of people in Clay Cross go out of the community for food shopping and 90 per cent go shopping outside the town for non-food stuff, so existing retailers are relying on a small number of people.

"We want to reverse that flow and get 75 to 80 per cent of residents shopping in the town.

"The development will be a huge boost for the local economy and local retailers, as there will be a lot more people spending money in Clay Cross."

Parish councillors in Clay Cross are backing the long-awaited scheme saying it will boost job opportunities in the town.

Cllr Peter Riggott said at last week's council meeting: "As a representative for Clay Cross, it is about how we can improve Clay Cross, how we can improve the job lot for people.

"By far the majority of people in Clay Cross want this development to happen."

But although the redevelopment has been met with approval from many, some business owners are concerned about the effects it will have on their trade and 12 have objected to compulsory purchase orders on their properties.

A provisional date of November has been set for the planning enquiry that will rule on whether the compulsory purchase orders stand.

• The planning application for the revised scheme will go before NE Derbyshire District Council's planning committee in September.