AMBITIOUS plans for a towering development on Southend seafront are expected to be finalised this month.

The Inner London Group believes it is on track to submit an application to build 350 apartments, plus shops, restaurants, offices and leisure facilities, between Marine Parade, Southchurch Avenue and Pleasant Road.

The developer initially hoped to send its final plans to Southend Council by the end of July, but partner Larry Fenttiman said the reams of accompanying paperwork had delayed matters.

He added: “We hope to get it sorted by the end of September.

“There are a lot of documents which have to be completed with an application of this size, and unfortunately it has taken us longer than we would want to complete these.

“There haven’t been any major changes to the plan. It is very similar to what was originally proposed, with a few tweaks to comply with environmental regulations.”

The first glimpse of the massive development was offered in December last year, when preliminary proposals were put forward by the Pegasus Planning Group on behalf of ILG.

The scheme, which would sit opposite the iconic Kursaal, is expected to be ten to 14 storeys high and include 6,000sqm of commercial floor space.

All existing properties on the site, including the old Funland area, the Foresters Arms pub, the closed New Ship pub, and the Happidrome amusement arcade, would all be bulldozed if the plans go ahead.

ILG paid £2.25million for most of the prime seafront site last summer, although talks are believed to be still ongoing with the owners of the Foresters Arms and the Happidrome.

Mr Fenttiman said: “We have not got an exact date for the application, but everything is being done as quickly as possible.”