MORE big names have joined the ranks of shops which have pledged their future to Basingstoke by taking up space in the flagship Festival Place shopping complex.

Popular high street retailer JD Sports, Faith and Gadget Shop have announced they will all be taking units in Basingstoke's new £300 million shopping centre.

And existing town centre clothes giant Next will also be moving into a unit in the new centre which will be five times the size of its current store in The Malls.

It is hoped that such moves by some of the centre's existing stores will provide an opportunity for more businesses to come into other parts of the town.

Among the retailers and caterers already signed up alongside anchor stores Debenhams and BHS are H&M Hennes, Gap, First Sport, Goldsmiths, F Hinds, Dixons, The Link, BT Cellnet and Burger King.

Bernard Ferris, Festival Place centre director, said: "This is an exciting time for the project as we enter the final stage of the development with completion on track for autumn 2002, and many more retailers and caterers to be announced in the next few months."

The developers have yet to give an official opening date for the new centre but have said the project is running to schedule and on budget.

In total, Festival Place - which is set to open in the autumn - will house more than 80 shops, 12 cafes and restaurants, a 10-screen multiplex cinema, nightclub and refurbished Sports Centre.