Plans for a new £2.3m interpretation centre for the Jurassic Coast at Seaton, Devon, have been submitted to the local authority, despite the dissolution of the project's management board.

Ward Williams Associates submitted a planning application for the 865sq m (9,311sq ft) building on behalf of East Devon District Council (EDDC), which will see half of the floorspace occupied by exhibitions.

The local authority has committed £1.83m towards the scheme, subject to a property transaction with supermarket chain Tesco. Devon County Council (DCC) has contributed an additional £500,000.

However, the submission of plans for the attraction comes amid the decision to wind up the Exmouth and Seaton Interpretation Centres Board/Trust - set up to oversee the delivery of the facilities.

A private sector firm could now be sought to operate both the Exmouth and the Seaton centres, with EDDC officers working with DCC and the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Team to find ways of taking the scheme forward.

Ray Franklin, member responsible for strategic planning and regeneration at EDDC, said: "I would like to thank the members of the Board for their efforts and I am sure that with energy and imagination we can find the right way forward in terms of delivering the two centres and making them sustainable.

"The Exmouth and Seaton projects are at different levels of advancement and we feel it would be best if each were overseen as separate schemes but with the linked theme of the Jurassic Coast very much to the fore."