Detailed designs of the controversial King Alfred development in Hove will be drawn up by the end of the year.

The plans will be on display to the public in January and a planning application is expected in June 2005.

Brighton and Hove City Council announced yesterday it had signed an agreement with Karis Holdings which gives the go-ahead to produce detailed designs for the £220 million scheme.

The agreement was sealed after Karis was chosen as the winner for the contract to develop the King Alfred site last July.

Brighton and Hove's seafront could be defined by towering buildings either side of the seascape if the Karis development was built on one side of the city and a 40-storey tower by Brunswick Developments was agreed for the marina.

Karis boss Josh Arghiros said: "The development agreement gives us and the council confidence to move forward. We will deliver an outstanding scheme for Brighton and Hove."

Frank Gehry's final design is likely to be based on the futuristic vision of four glass and metal towers which have been criticised by former planning officers, councillors and residents of Brighton and Hove.

Mr Gehry is famed for designing the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao and the Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles but the King Alfred would be his first major project in the UK.

Eminent designers Piers Gough, responsible for the National Portrait Gallery in London and Anthony Gormley, who created the iconic Angel of the North, in Gateshead, have also been commissioned by Karis to work on the project.

Millennium Stadium designers HOK Sport will put forward designs for the £30 million leisure centre.