The project is a joint venture between Westmeath county council and Bennett Construction, a public/private partnership specialist.

The original concept was drawn up by the council as a means of rejuvenating the town and publicly advertised in 2003.

In November last, Mullingar town council rejected developer Bennett's original submission for the site at the Blackhall and Bleach Yard area of the town, in part because of concerns about the area's unexplored archaeological significance. There have been medieval and prehistoric archaeological finds in the northern part of the site, including flint heads and pottery. However, the developers say extensive excavation carried out in consultation with the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government has not uncovered anything of sufficient historical importance to warrant further disruption of the project.

"We have been carrying out excavations since last February and we can now conclusively say that there is nothing of significant archaeological interest on the site, " said Bennett Construction spokeswoman, Claire Solon.

The planning application includes over 18,000sq m of retail units, a 2,400sq m cinema, a cultural centre, cafes, restaurants, a food court, a creche, over 30 apartments and parking for approx 1,500 cars. The development has been designed by award-winning architects Building Design Partnership.

An Bord Pleanala had also expressed concerns relating to the overall design and height of the original proposed development.

"We are confident that we have improved upon our previous design and satisfied the concerns of the Bord, " said Solon. "This is an exciting scheme which reflects the town's prosperity and addresses the requirements of its growing population, while catering for the changing demands of our modern lifestyle.

One particularly striking feature of the proposed development is the incorporation of dual street levels along with the inclusion of a multi-storey underground car park, which will require extensive excavation.

"It's a slightly difficult project from the point of view of there being different levels, " said Solon. "There's actually an eight-metre difference between the top end of the site and the back end. That difference is quite severe really and the most practical design option open to us was to plan for dual level access."

Initially, the plan was to provide 1,085 underground parking spaces. That number has now been increased to 1,481.

Developing the underground car park will require the removal of 24,000 tonnes of excavated earth.

The original application included plans for an 128-bed hotel. This feature of the proposed development has been dropped in favour of a shallow block given over to office and residential accommodation.

"We now have plans for three plazas. We decided to narrow the street slightly and included the plazas . . . which can be used for theatre and art exhibitions . . . at the three access points, " Solon said.

"Before we had a small cafe and food court element. We have increased that now to include a mixture of uses, not just primarily retail."

One significant benefit of the scheme, according to the developers, is that once constructed it will counteract consumer leakage to other towns.

"The plan looks promising and should help to revitalise the centre of Mullingar, " said local Green Party town councillor, Betty Doran. "Because of its central location it will help keep the commercial heart of the town alive.

"It's important that any development given the green light is sustainable. Certainly it's a more sensible option than building a new shopping centre on the edge of town."