The first part of a three-stage, �300,000 upgrade of Orcombe Point and Foxholes carpark and the pedestrianisation of Queens Drive is set to get the go ahead.

Bright 3D has drawn up detailed plans to enhance Exmouth’s western gateway of the Jurassic Coast, to be completed by 2016.

And, if the proposals are backed by the town hall on Monday and subsequently rubber-stamped by county council chiefs, the first stage will be competed by March next year.

Phase one, at a cost of �45,000, will see new signs at Orcombe Point telling the story of the Jurassic Coast.

The vandal-proof signs will also display geological information to replace signs vandalised four years ago.

The second stage, which will cost around �170,000, will see more improvements to Orcombe Point.

To the left of the geoneedle, it is proposed to build a one-metre stone wall with a grass embankment sweeping up behind it and merged with timber benches.

Signpost ‘totems’, made from corten steel, will be installed at Foxholes carpark, the eastern end of Queens Drive and at the top of a zig-zag path enroute to Orcombe Point with ‘interpretation points’ dotted along the way.

The end of Queens Drive will be pedestrianised and bollards installed. It will become more wheel-chair friendly with more dropped-kerbs added and a smoother service laid.

There will also be new signs, planters, railings, cycle racks and stone seats.

The design statement reads: “The turning area in Queens Drive is not welcoming at all or, indeed, pedestrian friendly; it is overly urban in design and noisy.

“There is a clutter of bins, signs and other street furniture, which also look very urban and suffer in the harsh weather conditions.

“The installations will contribute to making this special part of Exmouth seafront an appealing destination and a fitting gateway to this, the oldest part of the Jurassic Coast WHS.”