Land at Kittoch Field in East Kilbride is to be developed by supermarket group.

Asda are now likely to submit a planning application to South Lanarkshire Council to build a major store at the town centre site.

Back in 2006 the council unveiled plans to transform East Kilbride Town Centre thanks to a £400m package of public and private sector improvements. Key to the creation of the new civic facilities was the sale of the land at Kittoch Field.

In January 2008 the council submitted an outline planning application at the site for retail development up to a maximum of 12,000 square metres. When the site was marketed it was on the basis that bidders would return proposals consistent with the application description.

A number of detailed reports also allowed the council to assess each bid. They included a Transport Assessment, a Retail Impact Assessment, a Protected Species Survey Report and a Geotechnical desk study.

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During the marketing process, the three best bids were subject to a detailed assessment which ranked them across three different headings - price, planning and design, and risk. Price made up 55% of the assessment score, planning and design 25% and risk 20%.

Using this system, Asda Stores Ltd had the best overall score. It offered the best combination of price, price risk, planning and design, retail impact and diversity.

The land to be developed is approximately 4.5 hectares (11.12 acres). The council will enter a long ground lease with Asda for 175 years.

Councillor Eddie McAvoy, the Leader of South Lanarkshire Council, said: "The development of this land allows us to move ahead with our plans for the regeneration of East Kilbride town centre.

"The money we receive will be put back into new town centre facilities. We are currently working on plans to create a new integrated council and health facility to replace the Civic Centre and Hunter Health Centre."

The state of the art building will house a theatre and function hall (to replace Ballerup Hall), new library and a full range of GP and healthcare services.

"We are encouraging the owners of the covered shopping centre, Propinvest, to bring forward plans to upgrade the Ice Rink, food court and Olympia," he added.

(GK/JM)