Plans for a £1.5m boat yard redevelopment alongside the River Thames in the centreAbingdon are expected to go before council planners within the next month.

Following an exhibition and public consultation, the architects for the scheme, West Waddy ADP, say they are examining the responses in detail before making a planning application to the Vale of White Horse District Council.

The project involves rebuilding the boat centre facilities with a restaurant on the top floor of the boat yard on Nag's Head Island. Key issues are the scale, height and area covered by the development.

Philip Waddy said: "Our clients, Len and Brenda Baker, are delighted with the comments of support. It's vital that a public consultation process should take place at an early stage because of the sensitivity of this riverside location."

Of the two designs on offer, traditional and contemporary, more than 60 per cent of the public preferred the traditional version.