Architect Frank Gehry's seafront development has been backed by councillors despite fears the designs are "unsafe, premature and not thought through".

The striking plans for the King Alfred site in Kingsway, Hove, faced strong criticism at Brighton and Hove City Council's policy and resources committee last night.

However, councillors agreed to take a "leap of faith" in Gehry's design team and trust that problems with the scheme would be ironed out before the development was built.

The decision by the committee paves the way for the £200 million development as it is unlikely the designs would be scrapped at such a late stage.

The council is now unlikely to go back on its word that it would back the scheme and the designs only have to go through a few more committee stages before they can become a reality.

Councillors agreed plans for hundreds of extra homes to be included in the development despite fears the surrounding infrastructure would be unable to cope.

The meeting heard the latest plans failed to meet many of the requirements originally set by the council in a brief given to developer Karis.

But councillors were urged to back the plans anyway because to say no at this stage would have killed the scheme, which is one of the most ambitious the city has seen.

World-famous architect Gehry hopes to bathe the development in a sea of vivid colours.

The designs reveal how the King Alfred development would become a "riot of colour" which he says would match the vibrant character of the city.

His latest images also reveal he is sticking to his "crumpled" look on the two main towers in the project - similar to his original design which was scrapped following a wave of protest.

Sports facilities included in the designs have been reduced with an indoor bowls facility removed altogether and its swimming pool slashed by a third - making it smaller than the existing facility.

Meanwhile, the number of homes in the new seafront village has gone up from the 300 to 400 suggested by planning officers to 750 units.

Opponents were furious at the outcome of the vote, which was split down the middle with committee chair Ken Bodfish casting the deciding yes vote.

A council board, which works with Gehry and developer Karis to steer the project, admitted Brighton and Hove does not have enough schools, doctors, buses and other vital services to support the added population.

But councillors decided to back the scheme and trust that such difficulties could be sorted out later.

A falling market and added unforeseen construction costs have meant Karis could now only afford the development if it added the extra homes.

Opposition councillors accused Karis of 'holding a gun to the council's head' and forcing it to say yes to plans which were ill thought-out and would be catastrophic for the city.

They say problems with the new plans include fewer affordable homes, insufficient parking, inadequate road access, the overshadowing effect of new tall buildings and a predicted failure by Karis to meet sustainable energy targets.

The Green Party was split, with Councillor Bill Randall voting for and Councillor Keith Taylor voting against the scheme, depsite being a vocal supporter of Gehry's plans until now.

Conservative councillors were outraged at the latest proposals, which were only made public last Friday.