WORK could start this year on a

£25 million leisure complex on the edge of Chichester city centre.

A five-year long planning wrangle finally ended yesterday when district councillors voted to approve a huge scheme for school land in the city's Stockbridge Road.

Developers Woodbridge Edenside will build a six-screen cinema, 28-lane bowling alley, four restaurants, a night club, pub and 60-bedroom hotel.

The decision also means that Chichester High School for Girls will get modern new buildings.

The school currently operates from split sites in Stockbridge Road

and nearby Kingsham Road.

West Sussex County Council and Woodbridge Edenside will now complete a deal for the sale of the Stockbridge Road site for the leisure scheme.

The County Council will use the bulk of the cash it gets from the deal to improve the school on one campus at Kingsham Road.

The final decision

followed a ruling by Environment Secretary John Prescott that he was not going to intervene and order a public inquiry.

District councillors also rejected a rival scheme for a cinema and health club proposed for the site of the city's bus garage.

Peter Thair, a director of Crawley-based company Development Planning and Design Services, which acts for Woodbridge Edenside, said after the meeting: "It has been a long haul but we are delighted at the decision.

"We would hope to get started on the site this year once the final legal agreements have been sorted out."

A spokesman for West Sussex County Council also welcomed the decision.

He said: "The scheme is in line with our policy of ensuring that pupils and teachers receive first-class education

facilities."

The amount of money which Woodbridge Edenside will pay the County Council for the school site has not been disclosed.

The decision will also mean that Chichester will again have a purpose-built cinema for the first time in 18 years after the old Granada complex in East Street was closed down.

Movie fans either have to travel to nearby Bognor or visit a local community centre in the city which runs a film club.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.