CONTROVERSIAL plans for a £10 million luxury hotel complex on West Kirby's seafront have been unveiled.

If approved, the town will get its own version of Liverpool's award-winning Hope Street Hotel after contracts were signed this week with developers Carpenter Investments Ltd.

The hotel complex on Dee Lane's car park site, will include a restaurant, bar, spa and conference facilities together with additional retail provision at ground floor level.

A new sailing school and high quality hotel would be built, and the existing sailing school replaced with a new building. There would also be a separate boat storage building and additional retail unit and café.

Carpenter Investments Ltd is working on their proposals in more detail. The company was co-founded by David Brewitt, owner and operator of the Hope Street Hotel in Liverpool and Alan Beer, director of Beers Timber and Building Supplies Ltd.

The developer has put forward a number of different solutions for the re-provision of car parking on the site and has allowed for the provision of public toilets in the sailing school complex.

Cllr Bob Moon, Wirral's cabinet member for culture, tourism and leisure said: "This is exciting news for Wirral, Carpenter's recent track record in delivering similar schemes is excellent.

"The Hope Street Hotel in Liverpool is a multi-award winning facility and if its success is replicated in West Kirby it will benefit the whole of the borough immensely."

Gerry Ellis, Conservative councillor for Hoylake and West Kirby said: "There's strong opposition against this development from local residents and I want to assure them that there will be full consulation before permission is given.

"We don't want to see the beautiful views of Wales are blotted out by this."