Two call centres could form the heart of a £25 million regeneration project planned for Newhaven.

Up to 1,000 jobs could be created at the two centres, which would be the largest employers at the new business park in the East Side area.

The call centres would cover 53,245 sq ft of land. The remainder of the site would be taken up with about 160,000 sq ft of light industrial units where up to 500 more workers could be employed.

The project, which is seen as key to the regeneration of Newhaven, has been proposed by the Cowbeech-based Bannertown Group of Companies.

The scheme is expected to be approved by Lewes District Council in the next few months.

Bannertown hopes to start building work on the site as early as July and the whole business park could be operational by next March.

Project manager Ann Barry said the call centres would be built even if tenants for them were not found in advance.

She said: "We are moving ahead apace with this. There is a lot going on in Newhaven at the moment.

"There is a lot of activity at the moment and it looks as though it is going to be a very different Newhaven by this time next year."

Bannertown will have to build a new £2 million port access road as part of the project.

This may eventually be extended to link up with a new "outer port" area.