The latest draft of controversial plans to regenerate Anglia Square will finally be lodged in the coming weeks – but developer behind the scheme has said it has had to be split up.

The redevelopment of Anglia Square has been on the cards for decades and now fresh plans are gearing up to be submitted.

However, the developer said the plans will now come in stages, with the first set going into Norwich City Council by the end of the month.

The scheme has been beset by a series of roadblocks, after a previous application for the shopping centre's regeneration was rejected by secretary of state Robert Jenrick in 2020, forcing developers Weston Homes and site owners Columbia Threadneedle to go back to the drawing board.

At an informal planning meeting in City Hall on Thursday, Weston Homes gave councillors an update on its progress and announced its latest deadline.

Steve Hatton, from Weston Homes, said if the plans are approved development on the site would start by January at the latest.

Part of the reason for splitting up the application into stages is to try to move businesses currently in Anglia Square into other locations.

Mr Hatton said: “It’s trying to manage them, give them proper homes and move people around to make a safe place to work, develop and build.”

The Weston Homes director said he was also disappointed by the response to the plans from Historic England – a heritage watchdog – which is likely to object.

At a recent government hearing looking into the plans, Historic England argued the number of homes should be capped at 800.

Mr Hatton said: “I find it incredibly disappointing for the amount of engagement that we’ve invested and the level of feedback we had.

“The impacts are significantly less than we had in the last scheme.”

Plans for Anglia Square have dramatically altered since the project was previously submitted, which included a 20-storey tower block, more than 1,200 new homes, a hotel, cinema, car parks and new shops.

The tallest building now would be eight storeys - 60pc smaller than the previous tower.

The number of homes has been cut to 1,100, while the originally planned 11,000sqm non-residential retail, cinema and office space was slimmed down to 4,000sqm, with no cinema.