Updated proposed plans for Anglia Square in Norwich have been welcomed after being unveiled to the public for the first time.

People flocked to the Magdalen Street site after developers Weston Homes were forced to go back to the drawing board when previous proposals for the shopping centre's regeneration were rejected.

Anglia Square's tallest building will now stand at eight storeys should plans be accepted, with the number of homes cut to 1,100.

"The plans we saw back in November were good, but it looks much better now," Barry Sharp said. "There's now less high-rise and it's not as overtly commercial.

"We live in Duke's Palace, and our outlook is this horrible Anglia Square, where this is much better."

Wife Mary added: "It's not just our outlook, but it'll be nicer for this area."

Eamonn Burgess was head of Norwich City Council's planning committee until 2003.

He said: "The fact that they're holding the consultation here at Anglia Square, I knew that even on a freezing cold Sunday morning this would be the place to be.

"If the proposals look like these models and drawings, I'll be happy because it's not as ugly as what it is now.

"There's so much less car parking. I still want more, though."

Tom Allen said: "This work needs to be done. You just have to look around at the disused space and how dilapidated some of it has got.

"It's really good to see they've kept a good amount of retail space. You only have to look at what Magdalen Street's become in the last five years to see that people want to use this space."

"My main concerns are the rents," Stuart McPherson - also known as The Mile Cross Man - said. "What sort of demographic are these homes going to be aimed at? They're not going to be cheap.

"Norwich North is not an affluent area and it needs housing that its locals can afford.

"You've got to think what was here before, it was the heart of industrial Norwich. It's now very tired and I'm worried that these new developments aren't built to last."

Anglia Square's consultation continues tomorrow (January 31) between 9am and 1pm.

What do the developers say about the future of Anglia Square?

Steve Hatton is planning and design director at Weston Homes.

"It's about seeing people and getting feedback and making changes as a result.

"Every step is going in the right direction in our view. You can't expect it to be right on day one, there are natural iterations of things getting better.

"It hasn't felt like a battle and it's been a pleasure to see people with constructive feedback."

Peter Vaughan, who leads the design team as an architect for Weston Homes, added: "We come to listen, that's the important thing.

"The feedback we received the first time has helped us evolve our master plan and we've come back.

"The ability to engage with the new model is fantastic, and to stand in the space with the model is more useful. People are very easily able to ground themselves. On that basis, their contributions are so much more direct and informed."