New shops are planned and major names are set to invest in Carlisle, with civic leaders tipping it as a "destination city" for 2017.

Major high street retailer Next is expanding its operation, while other shops are poised to follow the lead of Primark in coming to the city centre.

It follows a year in which there a number of major investments were announced for Carlisle - even after it was hit by the disastrous floods of December 2015.

Colin Glover, leader of the city council, believes Carlisle has made huge strides attracting new businesses in - and he thinks it now has "the perfect blend" to move forward.

Shoppers had long expressed a desire for Primark to come to the county and it opened in The Lanes shopping centre in October.

The new year will see an expansion for Next, a new Costa outlet and possibly further development by McDonalds.

Clothing chain Next wants to move its mens, womens and childrenswear stores under one roof in a new unit in The Lanes.

This would mean the closure of its English Street branch but would not affect its Home store at Kingstown.

A spokeswoman for Next said: "We are only in the planning process of this store but we should have more information at the end of January."

David Jackson, commercial director of The Lanes, said: "I can confirm that we are working with Next and together we are hoping to deliver one larger store for them in 2017.

"There will be some building work in the centre to allow that to happen and we will be getting on with that in the first quarter.

"That will create opportunities in terms of space to allow other retailers to move around and new ones to come into the centre."

The News & Star understands that Jack Wills may be one of the retailers hoping to come to the city in 2017.

The preppy clothing chain, which is popular with university students, had a pop-up shop in The Lanes at Christmas 2015.

Costa is opening its third city outlet in the former Pancho’s restaurant at Court Square in February or March. Work is expected to start in January.

And fast food chain McDonald’s also confirmed to The Cumberland News it too is looking at "several potential opportunities" in the city.

A spokeswoman said: "Carlisle is an area we would like to continue to invest in and we are looking at several potential opportunities."

Mr Glover said: "Some big national chains are continuing to look at Carlisle as an option and local independent shops are starting to flourish.

"Various retailers are looking at sites in Carlisle although they tend not to divulge any details until a deal is signed."

Other existing businesses will too see an expansion in the new year.

Electrical retailer Peter Tyson will soon move to its new site in Shaddongate, taking over the premises formerly occupied by Thomas Graham Ltd.

And food firm Pioneer Foodservice has been given the go-ahead for an expansion of its business, complete with coffee shop, on the opposite side of Montgomery Way, in Rosehill, Carlisle.

The site is currently used as a car park for H&H’s Rosehill livestock mart but this will be turned into a 295-space car park as well as 11 industrial units.

The development is part of a potential £5m scheme planned by H&H Group on undeveloped land.

The firm believes that the development - on land it acquired from the city council last year - will create about 50 new jobs.

H&H expects work to start on the site in the Spring.

Clothing chain Edinburgh Woollen Mill is poised to make Carlisle its headquarters, bringing 300 new jobs to the city.

The firm is considering moving its corporate base to Carlisle, with a multi-million pound overhaul of a vacant office building in the city centre.

It is looking at taking over Rufus House in Castle Street, which has stood empty for about three years.

Mr Glover said: "Seeing the growth and investment in the city makes me proud.

"One of the things we wanted to do when we took over in 2012 was to make Carlisle a destination place - not just a place that people pass through - and I think we’ve done that.

"The city is now seen as a place to invest.

"There’s been a growth in housing and business.

"New businesses are opening all the time and existing businesses are expanding. It’s good to see."

Mr Jackson said: "New investment is good news for the city because it brings new opportunities and new jobs.

"I think it all started last January when Primark signed to say they were coming and a building programme began to allow them to open in the autumn.

"I think 2017 is going to be a busy year for us in The Lanes and for the city as a whole."

Investment has also been made at Durranhill Industrial Estate by the city council.

Roads have been improved and units that had been sitting empty for years are now home to a number of small businesses after £2.25m was splashed out on rejuvenating the estate.

And firms on Botchergate are benefiting after Cumbria County Council opened its new £10.4m headquarters there housing 700 staff.

It has been credited with giving this area of the city a boost, with at least one shop opening up to cash in on the trade it brings.

In the housing sector new developments are popping up across the city, with Taylor Wimpey building at The Coppice, next to the Carleton Clinic, Persimmon Homes building Speckled Wood on land off Cumwhinton Road and Story Homes continuing with its various developments.

Persimmon's upmarket subsidiary, Charles Church, is building at Clover Fields, off Wigton Road.

In the leisure industry, the last 12 months has seen developments including a new Energi trampoline park open at Willowholme, along with a host of new football pitches at SoccerWorld in Bousteads Grassing and Tiny Town in Englishgate Plaza, where children can play in their own pretend town.

In education, new £17m plans have been drawn up to replace Carlisle's flood-wrecked Newman Catholic school.

Negotiations are underway between Cumbria County Council and the landowner and confidence is high that a deal will be completed soon.

The Carlisle secondary school was swamped by 7ft of water last December.

Work on the project could start in the next few months if it gets the go-ahead and the funding from central government.

Mr Glover said: "Overall the city offers good housing, business and a good heritage and cultural offer.

"The blend is there to make it a successful city.

"I hope the good news stories continue into 2017."