AN estimated £200m of investment could be poured into Oldbury if Sandwell Council back plans to build a new designer outlet centre in the town.

Proposals to create the shopping centre on the Lion Farm Playing Fields – which could lead to the creation of 2,000 jobs – were originally brought to light in 2012.

The development, which is planned to be built just off junction two of the M5, would include “high-end” outlets, shops, cafes and restaurants as well as leisure and entertainment facilities.

Sandwell Council’s cabinet will discuss the proposals next week and decide whether to grant the developer – Jeremy George Knight-Adams (JKA) of Hampton Properties – more time to work on the plans.

A report submitted to the cabinet, claims “significant progress has been made and JKA has already incurred significant expenditure” in securing adjoining land to develop the scheme.

The report added: “There are, however, still a number of issues to be overcome before any potential development could be considered.

“These include, amongst other things, securing planning permission, the agreement of statutory bodies, the removal of legal impediments and the upgrade of the highway network.”

The council claim the current sports pitches on Lion Farm Playing Fields are of a “poor quality, prone to water logging, had poor changing facilities” and the toilets were kept locked due to vandalism.

But the revised development plans could see improvement to the current playing pitches to ensure a “much better offer for local residents is available as part of the refreshed Playing Pitch Strategy”.

If the cabinet members do agree to an extension, an application for planning permission could be submitted by autumn 2018.