The development is smaller and spread across two sites

People objected to initial plans for the former Metropole Hotel site as they said it would destroy the seafront and block views of the De La Warr Pavilion.

Now the project, which includes a hotel, offices and shops in the East Sussex town, has been revised to make it smaller and spread across two sites.

About 240 people attended a meeting on Tuesday night to see the new plans.

'Reverse economic decline'

Graham Gubby, leader of Rother District Council, said: "We have now reached a crucial stage in our regeneration plans.

"There is clearly a broad consensus that change is needed as a matter of urgency if we are to make the most of the assets of Bexhill-on-Sea and reverse its economic decline.

"Now is the time to take proposals forward in a positive and decisive way in the interests of the community, and I am looking to local people to support us as we do this."

Information packs were distributed to residents at the meeting and people are being asked for their views.

Regeneration body

The new proposals are expected to be submitted as a planning application in 2005.

The hotel part of the original scheme was objected to by local people when the scheme was revealed in March.

A group, Save Our Seafront, collected about 5,000 signatures in a petition against the first scheme.

Sea Space, the regeneration body behind the plans, was set up by the Hastings and Bexhill task force with ABK as the architects involved in the project.

The task force was convened by the South East England Development Agency and includes several councils in Sussex including Rother.