Developers behind a multi-million pound sports and housing complex are finally preparing to deliver their plans.

Tomorrow, several sealed boxes are expected to be delivered to Brighton and Hove City Council.

Inside the boxes will be dozens of documents on paper and CD Rom which make up the long-awaited planning application for one of the most daring and controversial developments the city has seen.

The King Alfred project, now believed to cost a total of £290 million, would replace the outdated Thirties leisure centre on Hove seafront with a landmark sports and apartment complex designed by leading architect Frank Gehry.

On Monday, councillors gave the project a major boost when they ruled developer Karis had succeeded in meeting the standards the council had set as land-owner of the site.

The decision paved the way for the submission of the planning application and brought the £48 million sports centre and 754 Gehry-designed apartments a step closer to becoming reality.

Josh Arghiros, managing director of Karis, said the application would include up to 40 reports on a range of issues including the development's environmental impact, flood risk assessments, likely effects on the townscape and even a bats and birds report.

He said: "There's a report on pretty much everything you can imagine. It's a huge amount of information and we have been as thorough as we possibly could have been."

Mr Arghiros said he hoped the planning committee would be able to make a final decision on the development within six months.

But opponents of the scheme gave notice they would not be giving up their fight. Conservative councillor Averil Older, whose Central Hove ward includes the King Alfred site, said: "I'm disappointed that the Labour administration, now supported by the Greens and Liberal Democrats, is still pushing ahead with this scheme. It is an over-development of the site and when people realise how large the towers and housing blocks will be they will be shocked."

Members of the public can visit an exhibition of the designs at Brighton's Jubilee Library until October 31, when it will move to Hove Town Hall.