Key stakeholders and potential partners in developing the £3m centre near Church Point on Newbiggin promenade are being invited to hear the plans outlined in detail, before they are submitted to Wansbeck District Council for planning permission.

The centre – which will be developed around the site of an existing seafront heritage building – will have as its centrepiece the restored Mary Joicey, the last Oakley-class offshore lifeboat stationed in the village.

The boat has been brought back to Newbiggin to be restored after spending its last years on display in a park in Reading.

Local fishing coble Girl Ann will also be on display at the new centre, which will feature corporate and educational facilities, a café and restaurant.

The proposed maritime centre will add to the visitor attractions at Newbiggin by the Sea, including the newly restored beach with its 500,000 tonnes of sand 'imported' from off the coast of Lincolnshire last year, and Sean Henry's iconic statue Couple – the only piece of permanent offshore artwork around the coast of Britain.