Brighton Marina's stop-start redevelopment has crawled on for more than three decades.

Legal wrangles and financial wobbles have earned what was to have been Brighton's most ambitious new quarter the unwelcome reputation of a white elephant.

Now Parkridge Developments has taken this problematic pachyderm by the tusks and announced a huge multi-million pound scheme which, it says, will transform the harbour into a Continental-style waterfront resort.

Plans for 1,000 flats have been unveiled which could finally put what has been a far-flung corner of the city on the map.

There will be debate and, if Frank Gehry's designs are anything like the towers destined for the King Alfred site in Hove, inevitably a storm of controversy.

But Parkridge's confidence welded to a first-class piece of architecture must be welcomed in a city where housing is at a premium.

However, if the scheme is to be successful in the long-term, the council must stand firm. The developers stand to earn a fortune from such a huge development of what will undoubtedly be, in the main, very expensive homes.

It is time for planners to insist the marina is given a proper transport link to the centre - along the lines of the longed-for monorail - if it is ever to become a genuine part of Brighton.

Without a sensible, cheap and quick way of whizzing to and from what is promised to be a fabulous attraction the overall benefit to the city will remain a fantasy.