Construction work to create the vast new £1.4 billion Brent Cross Shopping Centre extension has suffered a six-month delay.

Initially due to start in July 2018, building work has been delayed until January 2019, pushing the eventual completion date back to March 2023, having initially been set for September 2022.

The overhaul of Britain's first purpose-built shopping centre will see the complex double in size, with more than 200 new stores, 60 restaurants, a hotel and a cinema.

The move will bring the shopping centre, which dates back to 1976, directly into competition with modern rival Westfield who own gigantic mega-malls in Shepherd's Bush and Stratford.

The huge expansion of the shopping centre will be matched by an overhaul of Brent Cross and Cricklewood costing around £4.5 billion.

As well as doubling the existing shopping centre in size, a new "living bridge" will be built for pedestrians over the A41/A406 interchange.

A new bus station is also being built. A new town square, redeveloped parkland and 52 new homes are also part of the Hammerson and Standard Life scheme.

The development required a 370-acre compulsory purchase order so that the entire project could go ahead.

After several delays and an enquiry, the compulsory purchase order relating to Brent Cross was signed by then Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Sajid Javid, in December 2017.

The Brent Cross development will include a new town square

Speaking to getwestlondon in January , a Hammerson and Standard Life Investments spokesman said: “We are working closely with construction company Laing O’Rourke to enable a start on site as soon as possible.”

They added: “In December 2017, the Secretary of State approved the compulsory purchase order (CPO) granted to the London Borough of Barnet which will enable the development to go ahead and works on-site are scheduled to commence in 2018.”

However, the 17-month delay between the enquiry into the compulsory purchase order and the signing of the order is blamed for the delayed construction start date, according to a Barnet Council committee report.

The plans include a new and enlarged bus station

There are three compulsory purchase orders in total in relation to the entire redevelopment scheme, with just one relating to the shopping centre, known as Brent Cross London.

The second compulsory purchase order was also granted for Brent Cross South, which introduces a new High Street to London, just south of the A406 North Circular.

The scheme will also create 6,700 new homes as well as commercial developments, new and improved facilities and public parks.

This scheme is being run in a joint venture partnership between Argent, the developer behind King's Cross Central and Barnet Council. The redevelopment area spans 192 acres and will have workspace for 25,000 new jobs.

Work on Brent Cross Shopping Centre's extension was due to start in 2018

The entire site will be served by a new Thameslink station, Brent Cross Cricklewood. The enquiry into this third CPO was carried out in September 2017 and the Secretary of State approved it last month.

The new station would mean a journey to King's Cross would take just 15 minutes. Initially pencilled in for completion in 2031, Barnet Council has brought forward its anticipated completion date to 2022.

The station development, also part of a joint venture between National Rail and Barnet Council, will also include a new waste transfer station, rail freight facility and train stabling.