The developer behind a £290 million seafront sports and housing project criticised by Government advisers has insisted it will still be built.

English Heritage and the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) said parts of Karis' plans for The King Alfred site in Hove would be out of keeping with its surroundings and the complex would be too difficult for the public to access.

But Karis told The Argus last night the criticisms were "minor" and would not pose a threat to the scheme.

English Heritage and CABE are the Government's chief advisers on heritage and the environment and their support is seen as vital if the project is to get planning permission.

Green councillors withdrew their support for the scheme following its rejection by the two bodies and the Lib Dems also said the organisations' views could not be ignored.

It was thought Karis would have to go back to the drawing board and submit a new planning application one based on the recommendations of the bodies.

But Karis played down the findings and said it was far too early to tell whether a new planning application would be necessary.

A spokesman said: "We are still confident in the overall scheme.

"English Heritage and CABE did not have any problem with the two major and most exciting parts of the scheme the sports centre and the two towers.

"There are only some surface design issues with the perimeter buildings and how the public realm ties in. They are quite minor. We only have to sort that out. We had the CABE and English Heritage views at the same time as the rest of the world had them, with no advance warning.

"We now need to go over the fine detail of this advice and find out exactly what it means.

"Until then we won't know what is going to happen next.

"We will know more next week."

The spokesman said Frank Gehry, the architect designing the scheme, often elicited controversy.

He said: "His previous schemes that I am familiar with have all generated a lot of discussion but been successful in the end."

The major sticking points for English Heritage and CABE with the current plans were:

  • The scale of eight smaller perimeter blocks of apartments, which both organisations said would be out of place
  • A failure on the part of the designers to ensure the buildings were "organic" and would be seen as an integral part of Hove
  • Criticism about the "public realm" part of the design and the public access to the site.
  • Asked what would happen if the current scheme did fall through, deputy council leader Sue John, who chairs the authority's King Alfred project board, said: "Obviously we would need to take a long hard look again and we would be keen to find a way of still providing a new sports centre for the city.

"However, we are not at that stage at the moment.

"We are in serious discussions with Karis and their partners and we are hopeful of finding a way forward."