A fighting fund has been set up in a bid to oppose new plans for a £65 million scheme which could create 2,000 jobs.

Developers have submitted new plans for the City Park project on the site of the old Alliance and Leicester headquarters in Hove.

The concrete eyesore which blighted the Orchard Road and Hove Park area for ten years has now been demolished.

The Cuckfield Group wants to build a mixture of offices and flats in its place in a bid to breathe new life into the area.

Brighton and Hove City Council planners deferred a decision on the project in October, because they were unhappy about a number of aspects.

These included over-development of the site, the impact on existing homes in Orchard Road, loss of trees and the amount of traffic that would be generated.

Local residents say the latest proposals, received by the city council just before Christmas, contain a number of improvements.

But members of North East Hove Park Residents' Association claim the traffic problems have still not been solved.

They have set up a fighting fund to pay for legal work to be done and need to raise more than £750 before the council's next planning meeting on January 16.

Hove councillor Jayne Bennett said: "We desperately need to raise this money for legal fees and need help from everyone in the area.

"The residential blocks in Orchard Road have been reduced in height and the redesigned layout allows for all the trees to be retained.

"The tower beacon which was to act as a landmark has also been reduced in height and will no longer be illuminated.

"Despite these amendments, many residents are concerned that the main issue of traffic has not been addressed."

Muriel Hart, of Orchard Gardens, said she had ploughed through hundreds of pages of plans contained in the application.

She said: "It still does not solve the traffic and parking problems which will be created around the site.

"If you have got 1,200 employees working on-site and 68 flats, but only 800 parking spaces, the figures don't add up.

"What is going to happen is that those people who can't park on-site are going to leave their cars in Orchard Road and Orchard Gardens or other nearby streets.

"It will have a major impact on Nevill Road which will become more congested and hold up the buses.

"There are three schools in the area and the increased traffic will make it more dangerous for children crossing an already busy road."

Richard Persaud, chief executive of The Cuckfield Group, was not available for comment yesterday.

Anyone who would like to contribute to the fighting fund should contact Jayne Bennett on 01273 557283.