THIS is the glitzy new world Eastleigh film fans could be enjoying next year.

As revealed by the Daily Echo block busting plans for a multiplex cinema have made a major leap forward.

This is an artist's impression of what the nine-screen cinema, which could be open by the late autumn of next year, could look like.

Council chiefs have not revealed the name of the operator. But a detailed application, which will involve the proposed extension of the Swan shopping centre, is expected to land on the planners' desks soon.

It will trigger a leisure bonanza for the town. And it will signal the end of a film famine for Eastleigh cinema buffs which began back in the early 80s when the final curtain came down on the town's only remaining cinema.

The leisure package will also include a tenpin bowling alley, health and fitness facilities, cafes and bars and talks are under way to build an 84-bed hotel.

Eastleigh Council leader Keith House, pictured above, has hinted that some of Britain's biggest names in leisure business will be launching their presence in Eastleigh for the first time.

The council is hoping that it will also attract the kings of the retail world to set up their stall here and draw much needed investment into the town.

If the developers get the green light construction work is expected to start on the multiplex in the summer of 2005 and it would open for business in the late autumn of 2006.

The return of the silver screen here could also come at the time as some spectacular movies will be rolling out of the studios.

In the pipeline are The Da Vinci Code - the film of the best-selling novel, starring Tom Hanks and Charlotte's Web, based on the famous children's book with Julia Roberts providing the voice of the famous spider.

Superman Returns - the new film of the comic book hero, starring Kevin Spacey- is also likely to coincide with the return of the big screen to Eastleigh.