Bray Town Council said on Tuesday that it had received a number of objections to the latest plans for the proposed Florentine Centre - a major 9,000sq m (96,875sq ft) development bordering Main Street and Florence Road.

The centre, which is being developed by a consortium led by Sean Mulryan's Ballymore, is set to come on stream at the same time as the €2 billion-plus development of the former Bray Golf Club in the centre of the town.

Between them, both developments have the potential to completely rejuvenate the centre of Bray, doing much the same for Bray as the new Dundrum Town Centre is doing for that part of Dublin.

Work had actually started on the Florentine Centre last year after years of haggling with local interests, only to be stopped again after the developers - which include Bannon Commercial and local auctioneer Gabriel Dooley - obtained another parcel of land with the potential to significantly increase the size of the site.

The Florentine Centre will now have an open topped entrance at 4-6 Main Street, amounting to essentially a new street and will fill an important gap in the local retail market where fashion traders find it impossible to get good sized shops of 139-232sq m (1,500-2,500sq ft).

The centre will have 9,000sq m (96,875sq ft) of retail space in all, including an anchor store, two large outlets and a range of smaller unit shops.

Food retailers likely to be pitching for the anchor unit are thought to include Marks & Spencer, Supervalu, Tesco Metro and Dunnes' new convenience store. Joint agents Dooley Auctioneers and Harrington Bannon have already reported strong interest.

The location of the new complex between Main Street, Quinnsboro Road and Florence Road guarantees its success. Most of the site has been used as a surface car-park and the balance was acquired from over 20 different owners.

This latest application has also increased the number of apartments included in the development to 110. The height of the development will now rise to four storeys, slightly more than the average three-storey buildings lining Main Street.

Bray has been one of the fastest growing towns along the east coast and has a population of 26,000 and a catchment area with about 80,000 people.

Dunnes Stores already has a supermarket and a separate fashion store; Tesco operates out of the Vevay area on the outskirts of the town while Superquinn is based in the Castle Street shopping centre.

Ballymore is also involved in the development of a much larger shopping centre in Newbridge, Co Kildare, with partners Mountbrook Homes.

With objections now registered it is now almost certain the scheme will be appealed to An Bord Pleanála after the October 3rd deadline for a planning decision by Bray Town Council.

While the Florentine Centre has the potential to revitalise the Main Street, what could really transform Bray is the development at more or less the same time of the former Bray Golf Club lands between the Dart line and the existing Superquinn centre.

The local authority recently granted a time extension to the Pizarro consortium's planning application for the massive development on a site of about 55 acres.

Pizarro, which includes Durkan Homes and Newlyn Developments among others, applied last June for planning permission for more than 1,200 residential units, and more than 50,000sq m (538,195sq ft) of retail space, alongside a public park, sporting and recreational facilities, a cinema and a hotel on the former site which runs alongside the River Dargle.

Playing pitches have also been built into the proposal although a local group, SWAP, is asking the developers to swap the location of the pitches and the buildings, to ensure the flood plain operates properly.

The former golf club site was part of a complex deal put together by North Wicklow-based property developer Eddie Dwyer who developed an 18-hole course for the Bray Golf Club on the side of Bray Head.

Because of the strategic importance of the former links to the town of Bray, the town council commissioned an independent study into its potential. This was shelved when increased densities became available.

Mr Dwyer subsequently sold on the site to the consortium for a figure believed to exceed €80 million. The new plan is thought to be one of the highest value developments on the east coast.