A PROPOSED 17-storey tower block on Hove seafront has hit a stumbling block after council officers questioned the accuracy of the plans.

The planning application for Sackville Gardens was branded 'invalid' and sent back to developers due to doubts over scaling and a lack of completed checks.

The 183ft (56m) tall building of 107 flats is proposed for the corner of Sackville Gardens and Kingsway on the site of the old Sackville Hotel.

If approved, it would loom above its neighbours as the tallest block on the seafront.

Residents raised concerns about the building’s height and design at public meetings held by the Hyde Group in late November.

Council officers have now said "the accuracy of the drawings on the plans is in doubt” because scale bars did not measure accurately.

Landscape plans were also missing scale bars and vehicle access was not labelled correctly.

The applicant must also complete a series of documents covering sustainability, biodiversity, air quality, daylight, noise and the visual impact of the tower before it can move forward.

Valerie Paynter of campaign group Save Hove said the plans were “sloppy”.

She said: “What has been submitted is inadequate.

“I’m surprised plans have been submitted that are in such bad shape.

“This is just sloppy. It can’t possibly be given planning consent.”

After the public meetings in November, Labour councillor Tom Bewick and Conservative councillor Denise Cobb, who both represent the electoral zone in which the tower would be built, wrote to the council’s planning committee, opposing the scheme on the grounds of aesthetics, affordability and a “lack of community support”.

A spokesman for the Hyde Group said: “As a responsible long-term housing association operating in Brighton and Hove, we take seriously every planning application.

“All of the additional documents and amendments requested are currently being prepared.”

If the revised planning application is successful, work could start on the site early in 2016 and be finished in 2018.