A STATE-of-the-art cinema will open in Newmarket if approval is granted for a giant supermarket, two restaurants and up to 90 homes.

Sainsbury’s and the George Lambton Trust, who are behind the application, said today that ODEON cinemas will come to the Fordham Road site if their plans are given the green light.

Sainsbury’s is one of four supermarkets vying to bring a store to Newmarket, with Morrissons, Asda and Tesco also submitting applications. A ruling on all bids will be made by a special Forest Heath District Council development control committee meeting on May 22.

The proposed five-screen movie theatre will be the first cinema in the town since the closure of the Doric and Kingsway cinemas and will be part of a development that also includes an unnamed drive-thru restaurant and a DIY store.

Robert Oxley from Sainsbury’s said: “This is the final piece of the jigsaw. Uniquely, our proposals will bring a state-of-the-art cinema to Newmarket for the first time, meaning that the Newmarket community will no longer have to travel to other centres to watch a film.”

Bids have also been submitted for a Morrisons in Exning Road, an Asda on land backing on to Rowley Drive and an expanded Tesco store in Fordham Road.