Flagship stores for Keighley’s planned £30 million Worth Valley Shopping Centre could be named within weeks.

Stainsby Grange, the firm behind the scheme, is close to signing contracts with two major national retailers.

Once these two store chains agree terms then several smaller retailers – already in talks – are likely to sign up too. Stainsby Grange spokesman David Williams said after these deals the project would move forward “very quickly”.

He said: “These two retailers are the catalysts, and the others will follow. They all want to trade with each other.”

Stainsby Grange plans to build 14 units on the East Parade site, including what will become some of Keighley town centre’s biggest stores. Cineworld has agreed to run a nine-screen cinema, and there will be several restaurants and a 350-space car park.

Stainsby Grange has spent much of this year negotiating with potential tenants of the 145,000 sq ft complex.

Mr Williams said: “Reaction to the scheme from retailers has been a lot more positive during the last six months and they have been a lot more open to discussions. We have a couple of the major retail names who are now well down the line. We’re almost ready to go public with those two names.”

Mr Williams said some retailers wanted a presence in both Keighley and Bradford, but had been waiting to decide how much space to take in Bradford’s long-delayed Westfield shopping centre. He said the land earmarked for the Worth Valley centre was “almost ready to go”, following several months of demolition work on existing mills and industrial units.

Stainsby Grange spent eight years assembling the five-acre site – bordered by East Parade, Gresley Road, Coney Lane and the River Worth – by buying land from nine different owners.

Keighley MP Kris Hopkins yesterday said he had been delighted when the Worth Valley Shopping Centre plans were announced, and remained positive about its prospects.

He said: “It is a very significant investment, it will bring hundreds of jobs to the area.”