THIS is the vision to regenerate part of Southampton city centre and create more than 100 new homes.

Plans to tear down former shops and replace them with a flats complex rising to 11 storeys in height have been filed with the city council.

If approved, the new flats could be part of a major overhaul of the East Street area, which could feature a new supermarket alongside posh student flats.

Hampshire & Regional Property Group's plans to redevelop the disused former shops in East Street were revealed in the Daily Echo earlier this year.

The developer is already building almost 300 flats and shops in a £60m complex at the nearby former Fruit and Vegetable Market.

And now it wants to put up the new flat complex on the site of the former Tuned In shop, opposite Debenhams.

Most of the new building would rise to five storeys in height, with the tower on Orchard Lane rising to 11 storeys.

It would contain a mixture of 42 one-bed and 74 two-bed apartments and two units totalling 462sq m at ground floor level that would be used as shops, cafes or restaurants.

Forty nine parking spaces would be created, which would be accessed from Bell Street.

The developer says the new building, which has been designed by architects HGP Architects, would be aimed at young professionals and would "revitalise a tired site".

All of the apartments would have their own private balcony, while trees on Queensway would remain in place.

The plans have been welcomed by traders on East Street, one of the city's busiest shopping thoroughfares, with Pink Broadway owner Nick Butt telling the Daily Echo that the plans could "completely regenerate the area".

Allan Gordon, Hampshire & Regional Property Group's managing director, said: "We are pleased to be submitting our planning application for this exciting redevelopment project on lower East Street.

"It comes after many months of dialogue with officers at Southampton City Council and other stakeholders, and we feel the contemporary scheme would enhance and contribute positively to the local area.

"It offers a new type of rented accommodation aimed at young professionals which the city is keen to attract and retain, whilst also reinstating the commercial frontages which define this area."

Southampton Itchen MP Royston Smith said: "An extra 100 homes in Southampton is to be welcomed.

"Hampshire and Regional Property Group are already building new homes in the city centre so we can have confidence they will complete this new scheme.

"However, the city council needs to ensure there is sufficient infrastructure for these extra homes, including a new supermarket."

Residents in the area with enquiries can call a free community information line on 0800 2941304.

Daily Echo:

Southampton City Council leader Simon Letts, above, has said the plans are the latest pieces of the "jigsaw" that is being put into place in the area.

Within a few short years, the area could be largely unrecognisable, with major developments planned from the former East Street Shopping Centre, to the old Bargate Shopping Centre.

Capital House, the towerblock overlooking the area, will be transformed into student flats while a row of new townhouses will be built along Evans Street.

Rooms for 423 students will be created on the site, while there will also be retail and/or leisure outlets.

However plans for a Morrisons supermarket on the former East Street Shopping Centre site bit the dust last year after the chain pulled the plug on the plans, which would have created 400 jobs.

Aldi is understood to be taking on the site instead now, although the budget chain has remained tight lipped about its plans.

Further west, the development on the former Fruit and Vegetable Market site is taking shape, while the empty Bargate Shopping Centre could soon be torn down.

If Bargate Property Ltd's planning application is approved by the city council, the derelict centre could be replaced with up to 80,000 square feet of shops, accommodation for 400 students and 140 private flats, with around 200 jobs created.