The Mothercare building was the first to be demolished

Demolition work has started in Plymouth city centre, as part of the �170m revamp of Drake Circus.

The existing shopping area was designed in the 1970s and the revamp was meant to start in the 1980s, but never happened.

It is hoped the new shopping centre, owned by P&O Developments, will be ready to open its doors in the autumn of 2006.

Three rivals

The arrival of the bulldozers has signalled that Plymouth city centre is finally set to get its long-awaited makeover.

The first shop to be demolished as part of the redevelopment was the Mothercare store, which has relocated to another part of the city centre.

Other stores are due for demolition in the coming weeks .

In their place will be a state-of-the-art 60,000 square metre development featuring 45 shops, cafes and restaurants.

Developers aim to complete the scheme by 2006

The company behind the regeneration, P&O Developments, is aiming to provide Plymouth with a high quality shopping centre.

There are three rivals bidding to carry out the construction work, Bovis Lend Lease, Laing O'Rourke and Sir Robert McAlpine.