Bidding is now underway for 85,000 sq ft supermarkets for Sainsbury’s at Longbridge and Tesco at Hednesford, Staffordshire.

The elevated Tesco store is part of a £50m retail park, where Halesowen contractor A & H Construction is building  purpose-built premises for Hollywood Bingo Club and the Reserve Forces and Cadet’s Association.

The Tesco store will shortly go ahead as phase two of the project.

While Sainsbury’s will kick-off the first phase of the £70m Longbridge town centre development and plans to have the big store open by easter 2013.

Later phases will see an 80-bed hotel, 40 apartments, further retail space and car parking around a 2-acre park.

On the residential side St Modwen said detailed planning applications have been submitted for 229 homes on the big Longbridge site and 300 homes at Coed Darcy in Swansea.

Construction of these housing projects is expected to commence in early 2012.

On the development side, Swansea University has formally entered into competitive dialogue with St Modwen to develop a new science and innovation campus on a 50 acre site at Fabian Way.

In a trading statement, Bill Oliver, chief executive of St. Modwen said: “Even in this challenging market, we have been able to drive income throughout our portfolio and I am particularly encouraged by the continued resilience of our retail assets.

“We have made further valuation gains within our development portfolio through active management initiatives and particularly by progressing sites through the planning process in London and across the UK.”