A NEW £30m Asda superstore will be a catalyst for regeneration in Wirral’s main shopping area, according to the council.

Work on the scheme starts next month, and is expected to create at least 95 construction jobs over the next year and 320 jobs when the store opens.

An ambitious build programme should see it opening in time for Christmas 2011 – a major milestone for the town which has waited for a decade for the development to begin.

However, local councillor Phil Davies, while welcoming the long-awaited investment, acknowledged it could be difficult for existing traders while the store is built.

Wirral Council revealed that three of the town’s main car parks will be shut – two of them in the run-up to the Christmas shopping period.

Cllr Davies said: “There will be less car parking in the short term, but I hope traders will appreciate that ultimately the store will act as a magnet to bring people in to the town centre. The big challenge for Birkenhead is getting people to come here in the first place.”

Cllr Davies said it had been “frustrating” over the years as the scheme almost but never quite got off the ground.

The development will be built on land between Grange Road and Oliver Street, and will be approximately 90,000 square feet when completed, with an entrance from the shopping area on Grange Road.