AMBITIOUS plans to create a seafront eating destination with the ‘wow’ factor have been unveiled.

Developers have submitted plans for the radical overhaul of The Terraces in Brighton, parts of which have been empty for 15 years.

Brighton and Hove fine-dining success story Gingerman, along with fashionable London foodies Pizza East, Dirty Burger and Chicken Shop, are all lined up to move in should the proposals get the green light.

The newly refurbished seafront site would also have a one metre open-air plunge pool for post or pre-dinner dips and a private members’ club.

Applicants Brighton Seafront Generation said the aim is to create a “high quality destination for all-year dining and entertainment, indoors and outdoors”.

The plans will see a radical overhaul of the site, which was last occupied by Terraces Bar and Grill in December last year.

The current cylindrical building will be demolished as well a glass pavilion on the site in Madeira Drive, Brighton, which sits on top of the SeaLife Centre.

Applicants said the current layout of the buildings made the space “unusable” and limited access to the beach front, while their removal will increase public space by 40%.

The proposals would also see a 1920s pavilion on the site refurbished with new timber doors, while existing metal balustrades would be replaced with glass to enhance the appearance of the “historic stone details”.

The applicants said the site was becoming a backdrop rather than “an element of connectivity from Kemp Town to the beach” and that the current building is suffering from driving rain and salt corrosion, despite only being 14 years old.

Gingerman founder Ben McKellar said his seafood restaurant, the plans for which were first revealed in The Argus in October 2012, would be a similar size to the Ginger Pig in Hove Street but would operate between midday and 10pm.

He said: “Everybody is keen but everybody is realistic as well.

“There are a lot of ideas in Brighton and not all of them get built, just look at Black Rock or the King Alfred.

“Everybody is waiting until it’s granted and then it will probably be all systems go.

“We have a 12-week turnaround. All the plans are pretty much done so we would look to be in next April – but that all depends on boots on the ground.

“We are hoping that the site will be a big wow, that it will be a big pull for people.

“At the moment, not all that many people go down there. You go down there at night and its pretty dark and dangerous.

“I have always loved seafood but I always wanted a site where you could see the sea – and that hasn’t been that straightforward in Brighton. “We are very excited about the process. It’s been a long process but we are hoping there is now light at the end of the tunnel.”