Plans have been unveiled for the riverside Ropetackle site in Shoreham, which has been derelict for more than 30 years.

The land fell into decay after successive bids to find a use for it ended in failure.

After decades of delay, it is now set to become a landmark development providing a £25 million gateway to the historic port town.

It will include homes, a town square, riverside walk, community building and leisure facilities.

Brick railway arches behind the site, which stands on the eastern bank of the River Adur, will be converted into studios and workshops for local artists.

Adur District Council has just received a final application for full planning permission for the site from developers Berkeley Homes, which already had outline permission.

The latest application includes a number of changes after the company revised the scheme to take account of consultations earlier this year.

They include reducing the number of homes, 40 of which would be low-cost housing, from 220 to 177.

The amount of retail and office floor space has also been cut, while the size of a proposed restaurant has been increased.

The number of car parking spaces is the same but the number available for public use has been increased from 30 to 39.

A model and graphics of how the new development would look is on display in the planning department at Adur Civic Centre.

Sussex transport watchdog Sustrans has welcomed the riverside walk for cyclists and pedestrians.

A spokesman said it would: "Provide a crucial link to the town centre from the South Downs."

Sustrans said it also wanted to see 20mph speed limits set up inside the development, similar to those used in Home Zones in other areas.

Shoreham Port Authority is concerned about boat-launching facilities from the public slipway, which will form part of the project.

A spokesman told Adur planners: "Access and parking for cars and trailers is inadequate and would render the slipway virtually unuseable, causing obstruction to traffic and encroaching into the town square."

The council has also received 43 letters and nine emails from residents and organisations in Shoreham and Southwick about the scheme.

One said: "The town square is inadequate. It is a poorly-sited, triangular leftover that would suffer from traffic noise, wind and overshadowing."

But planners say putting it on the riverfront would be likely to cause too much disturbance to birdlife in the Adur estuary.

Controversial plans to replace the roundabout from High Street over the Norfolk Bridge with traffic lights have been dropped and the roundabout would be improved.

The council's planning committee is being recommended to give full planning permission for the project when it meets on January 6.