Australian billionaire Kerry Packer and British entrepreneur Damien Aspinall are behind a scheme to create a £50m leisure, entertainment and gaming complex in the West Midlands.

The Aspinall Packer Group’s (APG) proposed complex, the 200,000sq ft Aspers Brierly Hill, will include bars, restaurants, a 1,000-capacity performing arts venue and a casino with tables and slot machines.

The centre is expected to create around 1,000 local jobs, which APG will be supporting by opening a dedicated training facility in Brierly Hill High Street to be run in partnership with local training providers and colleges.

Although the development cost of the training centre will come within the planned £50m expenditure, APG has said it is making a long-term commitment to the Brierly Hill area and will continue to fund training and education after the initial investment.

Masterplanning and urban design company Bates Smart Consultancy is behind the Aspers Brierly Hill project and APG has retained the company for each further development in an intended portfolio of 12-16 Aspers complexes around the country.

Other Aspers projects currently include opening casinos at The Gate in Newcastle and Salubrious Place in Swansea.

Work on the Aspers complex is expected to start at the beginning of next year, and be completed by 2007.

Chelsfield, which owns the land on which the complex will be built, is expected to complement the development with a new 80-bedroom hotel and housing.