A £300 million new homes and leisure project planned for Brighton Marina could help it to become one of the best leisure complex's in Europe, according to its owners.

Tenants Land Securities has announced its plans for 1,000 new homes for part of the site currently home to McDonald’s, Rendezvous Casino, Pizza Hut and Bowlplex.

As well as new apartments, the redevelopment will see 16,500 square metres of new leisure facilities while the existing multi-storey car park would be replaced by an underground facility.

The project is estimated to create around 385 operational jobs once completed and 375 jobs and 565 indirect jobs during its eight year construction phase.

Commercial property company Land Securities is seeking up to £20 million in public money to support the major regeneration project, it was revealed at a Greater Brighton Economic Board meeting yesterday.

It comes just months after £80 million worth of property came onto the market at the marina as the work on the first phase of a separate £250 million redevelopment began.

Andrew Goodall, managing director of Brighton Marina owner’s Brunswick Developments, said: “I am delighted at this fantastic news.

“Land Securities are the biggest developer in the country and are very capable with a project of this size.

“We work very closely with Land Securities, with ASDA, with all our tenants, so there is an integrated plan with the next phase of development set to begin once the current phase is completed.

“Brighton Marina has the potential to be the best leisure complex in the country and to compete with the best in Europe but to do that it involves change.”

The latest proposal for the marina is one of two late additions to the list of applicants for the third round of the Local Growth Fund where in total there are 12 projects competing for financial support from taxpayers.

Applicants were warned that not all projects were likely to receive their desired funding with the region itself not guaranteed to receive any of the £1.8 billion investment pot to be shared across the country.

It is anticipated work on the Land Securities site would begin once the ongoing and neighbouring Brunswick Development project to build 853 flats is completed.

A further regeneration plan of around another 1,000 flats on the existing ASDA site is considered the next possible step once the Land Securities site is completed.

Under the City Plan, the marina is expected to support almost 2,000 new homes by 2030 including the 853 already under construction as part of the first phase of the site’s redevelopment.

Professor John Watts, who has long campaigned against the extensive redevelopment of the marina, said: "These numbers are ridiculous, they are absolutely nonsensical.

"The council is scrabbling around to find plots of land to meet the housing numbers projected by the Government.

"The marina was not designed to be a developers' playground, it was meant to be a harbour for boaters."

PROJECTS COMPETE FOR A SLICE OF GOVERNMENT FUNDING

TWELVE major regeneration projects will be vying for a slice of Government money in the third round of regional growth funding.

As well as the Brighton Marina redevelopment, the latest entrant to the bidding ring is a plan for an £12 million, 11,000 square metre logistic and distribution centre at Eastside North, Newhaven.

The project is seeking £2.8 million in public funding to help overcome some development issues on site including difficult ground conditions and access to utilities. The site, which had previously been considered for an Asda supermarket, has attracted the interest of two firms.

All applications for the latest round of funding have to be submitted by the end of the month with Chancellor George Osborne expected to name the winning bids in the Autumn Statement.

Other development projects in the running include four Brighton-based projects; for transport improvements along Madeira Drive, the regeneration of the Royal Pavilion Estate, the redevelopment of City College Brighton and Hove’s campus and the University of Sussex bio-innovation centre.

Also competing are projects involving Shoreham New Monks Farm and Airport Business Estate, Decoy Farm in Worthing and Worthing Central project involving the regeneration of Union Place, Teville Gate, Montague Street and the Grafton Centre.

A second Newhaven project at Beach Road Eastside Business Park and two projects in Burgess Hill have also submitted funding bids.