SOUTHAMPTON’S medieval city walls stand side by side with the towering glass face of the city’s £80m new leisure complex.

Beneath both the city’s residents enjoy a stroll on a new public plaza while diners enjoy a bite to eat in a row of new restaurants.

These are some of the images captured in a new video taking people on a virtual tour of what the WestQuay Watermark complex will look like when it opens next year.

The newly-released video, which is available to view on the Daily Echo website, offers previously-unseen glimpses of what some aspects will look like, such as the walk up Harbour Parade next to the huge new building that will house the Showcase Cinema de Lux, and the walkway running along its bars and restaurants and overlooking the city walls and public space.

Work started on the site next to the current WestQuay Shopping Centre earlier this year and is continuing at a pace.

Another new restaurant has now been announced to take its place in the development, with Brazilian barbecue eatery Cabana inking a deal for a 3,703 sq ft unit on the development’s upper promenade.

It will become the chain’s eighth restaurant in the UK and only its third outside of London, alongside outlets in Leeds and Stratford.

A spokesman for Hammerson said: “Cabana, which will bring a real taste of Brazil to the south coast with its relaxed dining atmosphere and authentic Brazilian barbecue food, is a great addition to restaurants that have already signed up including Jamie’s Italian, Wahaca, Byron, Five Guys and Bill’s.”

They will be joined by the first Showcase Cinema De Lux on the South Coast, which will have ten screens, some of which will be 3D and the latest in digital surround sound.

When it is completed, the complex, which will eventually feature up to 20 bars and restaurants, is expected to create 1,300 new jobs as well as 700 construction jobs.

A second phase, which has outline planning permission but would require detailed consent, would feature a hotel, a mix of retail and office space, an underground car park and a residential tower block that could be as high as 27 storeys.

The developer has now appointed three official photographers to chart its journey from construction site to leisure and dining hub following a competition.

The trio - Scott Gladwish, Mike Ingram and Ross Chapman - were among five Southampton Solent University students to take part in interviews and present their ideas on how to capture the changes at the site.

They have each been awarded £750 cash prizes and their work will be exhibited at WestQuay Shopping CEntre throughout the construction project.

Jon Brooks, community manager at Hammerson, said: “It will be exciting for Southampton residents and those from further afield to watch the development progress through the lenses of three very talented photographers."

“Myself and the rest of the project team are really look forward to working with Mike, Ross and Scott on this commemorative project and seeing some amazing content.”