A shopping centre described as an "eyesore tip" on the main road to Birmingham International Airport is to be partly demolished and replaced by a Tesco superstore.

Birmingham City Council announced yesterday it had reached agreement to sell 4.6 acres of land at the Swan Centre, Yardley, to the super-market giant.

The decision follows years of argument about the site's future, which was the subject of a planning tussle between Tesco and Sainsbury's.

Tesco won outline planning permission two years ago for a £10 million redevelopment of the 1960s shopping centre. Discussions have been taking place since about acquisition of the land from the city council.

The council has given Tesco a year to obtain full planning permission for the scheme and a further three years to build the new shopping centre.

The project involves demolishing the multi-storey Swan Centre car park, indoor market hall and a number of properties along Church Road.

These are to be replaced with a superstore, indoor market, petrol station, car park and public square. The A4040 Church Road will be realigned. Local councillor Jim Whorwood told a meeting of the Birmingham City Council cabinet yesterday that the Swan Centre ought to have been knocked down years ago.