STRIKING plans could see the derelict Odeon razed and replaced with around 100 homes and half a dozen shops.
Developers say the multi-million pound scheme, which also includes the dilapidated Haines & Strange car dealership, would inject new life into a neglected area of Cheltenham.
The plans would see the gutted cinema in Winchcombe Street torn down and replaced by a Regency-style development of six ground floor shops with flats above, and town houses behind.
The blueprint also outlines a full revamp of the shopping units along Albion Street, although these are not owned by developer Leckhampton Estates.
An outline planning application could be submitted to Cheltenham Borough Council within three months.
A Leckhampton Estates spokesman said: "The designs fit in with Cheltenham's Regency street scene and provide a mix of traditional shop fronts and much-needed new homes. We want to bring two derelict sites back into use and inject new life into a very neglected area right in the heart of Cheltenham."
He said the cinema was beyond repair, adding: "When we acquired the site a few months ago, nothing of the original cinema interior remained.
"It is totally derelict and, according to our structural reports, in a pretty poor state of repair."
He added that the new development would help create a vibrant corridor between the town centre and St Margaret's Road, and complement the North Place and Portland Street development of 143 homes and a large supermarket.
The Odeon was built in 1933 and closed in 2006, shortly after Cineworld opened in The Brewery. There has been a campaign to save the building and in 2009 planning permission was granted to turn it into a nightclub and two restaurants. The refurbishment never materialised.
The site is on Cheltenham Borough Council's list of site primes for development, and Jeremy Williamson, of Cheltenham Development Task Force, which is driving the regeneration of the town, welcomed the plans. He said the site had laid dormant for years and was in a downward spiral.
He added: "The sites are currently not a good advertisement for the town."
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