DEVELOPERS of a proposed clifftop retirement complex say the scheme is still at the design stage but the public will be shown the plans before they are submitted.

McCarthy and Stone has bought the Hamilton House site on Cambridge Road, Felixstowe, and the car park alongside and is in the early stages of preparing plans for 46 high quality “Later Living” apartments, gardens and car parking.

A company spokesman said: “McCarthy and Stone is committed to engaging with the local community about its preliminary proposals and has recently met with neighbouring residents and local groups, including representatives from the Felixstowe Society, to discuss initial plans.

“A public exhibition will be held in the coming months – the date is still to be confirmed – to enable the wider community to view and comment on the plans whilst they are still preliminary.”

Previous owners Landro Ltd had planned a �15 million project to convert Cliff House in Hamilton Gardens into apartments and build two new blocks on the car park and Hamilton House site next door, creating 55 flats in total.

It was hailed as “bold, imaginative and unashamedly contemporary” by planners.

McCarthy and Stone said the intention was to closely follow the height and design of the approved plans for apartments submitted by the previous landowner following extensive consultation with the Suffolk Coastal Council and English Heritage. It would be a high quality, contemporary design.

“The proposal site is ideally located for Later Living apartments, being within very close walking distance to local shops and services in the town centre,” said the spokesman.

“The proposal would directly benefit the local economy as the majority of residents occupying McCarthy and Stone’s Later Living schemes tend not to be car owners and therefore rely specifically on local shops and services for their everyday needs.

“The provision of Later Living accommodation increases local housing choice for older residents and also contributes to the wider housing needs of the local area, as older residents move to more suitable accommodation and thereby release under-occupied family homes back into the local housing chain.”