Families are being invited to have their say on the design of a planned �1m village centre in Caister, near Great Yarmouth.Plans for the centre, which will be built at no charge to taxpayers in exchange for land to allow an expansion of the village Tesco store, are going on show in the High Street parish hall on Monday.

Families are being invited to have their say on the design of a planned �1m village centre in Caister, near Great Yarmouth.

Plans for the centre, which will be built at no charge to taxpayers in exchange for land to allow an expansion of the village Tesco store, are going on show in the High Street parish hall on Monday.

An afternoon session, aimed at older people and young mothers, will be held from 2.30pm- 4.30pm and an evening session, from 5.30pm- 8pm, will target daytime workers.

Parish council chairman Tony Overill said: “We want to make it informal so that people can drop in, take their time looking at the plans, enjoy a cup of tea and ask their questions or put their view.”

The facility, which will have its own parking spaces, will be built next to Tesco and will replace pre-second world war huts currently housing a youth centre.

It is intended to provide a home for more than 30 village clubs and associations in a complex that will include a dedicated parish council office, a meeting room and a 200-seater hall for public meetings and entertainment.

It is thought the project will take a year to get through the planning process and a further year to build, the expansion of the store proceeding at the same time.

Members of the project steering committee of parish councillors and youth and community centre trustees will be on hand at Monday's sessions, along with representatives of the developers, Tamsland, and NPS Property Consultants which conducted negotiations on behalf of the parish council.

Mr Overill said: “This will give us a unique chance to talk to potential users and the general public so we can do our best to ensure the new, modern building will meet their needs and be adaptable enough to cope with future demand. And the great thing is that this has been achieved without costing the ratepayer one penny.”

He said discussions were still ongoing about the possibility of placing a community policing centre and a base for an ambulance on the site.

Nick Wright, a spokesman for Tamsland, said: “This is an exciting project and presents Caister with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to provide a modern, multi-functional building which will benefit residents for many years to come.”

He added that there had been a lot of work and many different schemes produced in reaching exhibition stage.