Plans to regenerate the south beach area of Lowestoft have been outlined by its internationally renowned lead designer.

Wayne Hemingway, who has helped with regeneration projects across the UK, said the vision he has helped lay out is a 'no brainer' for the town.

The Lowestoft South Beach plans include a renovation of the East Point Pavilion, a brand new pagoda to become a restaurant or café, and seafront beach huts big enough for people to stay in overnight.

Mr Hemingway, with his company HemingwayDesign, has previously worked on regeneration projects in Margate, Morecambe, and Gateshead before becoming involved with Lowestoft.

He said: 'The pagoda and the renovation to the East Point Pavilion is all about attracting that younger generation who are rediscovering the parts of the country that the older generation forgot about.

'If the pagoda just became an average café then it is wasted, it has got to look amazing and if it does it is more likely the content will also be amazing.

'Everything you do should be touched by the hand of an artist or a designer, if you do that, regeneration will come.'

He added: 'The overnight beach huts have just got to happen. That was a pragmatic thing. Where the slippage of the cliff is happening, rather than it just being lost, and because there have been beach huts there before it was about thinking 'what can we do that is the future' and take it on.'

'It would be great if the council don't have to sell them and they stay as an asset that they can make money out from.

'If nothing happened for five years it might be old hat because I think this is something that will sweep around the whole country. It is a no brainer really.'

He is working alongside Waveney District Council on the project, with new wayfinding signs already installed as part of the vision.

Kerry Blair, head of operations and facilities at the council, said: 'We think there is so much potential here that we could widen the audience to slightly further afield and start to attract a younger group as well as the people who already come here.

'We look at what is happening in Lowestoft and there is some extremely exciting stuff happening here like the offshore wind centre.

'This is going to be a vibrant economy again.'