LONG-AWAITED plans for a £17.4million art gallery in the county have finally been revealed.

The public has been given a glimpse of how the new Turner Centre in Margate could look after architects appointed to come up with a new design unveiled their vision for a gallery that is expected to draw 130,000 visitors a year to the town.

The second version of the gallery is to be built on the seafront Rendezvous site close to the pier and is scheduled to open in 2010.

The design by the architect David Chipperfield features a striking 20-metre tall three-storey building that will be set on a raised two-metre high terrace to protect it from sea flooding.

The plans also feature a distinctive balcony on the second floor looking out to the sea views that inspired the artist JMW Turner, with an entrance via wide flight of stairs and ramp.

Exhibitions will be staged in a state-of-the-art gallery on the top floor. Elsewhere, there will be space for smaller community exhibitions, a café, bookshop and room for lectures and meetings.

The outline plans were broadly welcomed by many people who attended a public meeting at Margate's Winter Gardens on Monday, although some present complained about the high costs.

Mr Chipperfield said: "There is never a problem getting serious art lovers into a building but the challenge is how you get other people over the threshold. We have to solve that problem."

County council chiefs hailed the design as a milestone in a project that has been plagued by setbacks since it was first proposed nearly 10 years ago.

The original scheme for the gallery to be built in the sea was scrapped last February after costs spiralled to £50million.

Cllr Mike Hill (Con), Kent County Council's cabinet member for communities, said: "We see no reason why this project cannot be a success. This is a milestone in what has been a gruelling year."

A planning application is due to be submitted in the autumn with building work beginning in 2008.