A VIRTUAL new town housing 20,000 people and 24,000 new jobs are destined for the Dome Peninsula if plans for a £4bn development are successful.

Details of plans for the 190-acre site will land on desks across the Greenwich borough today, signalling the start of a 20-year development.

It will provide 10,000 homes and 400 car parking spaces located around four neighbourhoods Meridian Gardens, East Riverside, Bugsby's Reach and Parkside.

The houses are expected to be between eight and 10 storeys, flats on the riverfront will soar to 19 storeys, and all will contain a "substantial" social housing element.

Other areas of development include the sports arena housed inside the Millennium Dome, with complementary leisure and catering facilities and Millennium Square one of the largest open spaces in London.

Planners promise an emphasis on low car ownership with car-free boulevards, a river walk and cycleway across the peninsula.

The main commercial district, which will take up 340,000 sqm, will centre on North Greenwich underground station. It is hoped the area will attract creative and media-types to its offices and workshops, although planners say it will not rival the financial district's offices at Canary Wharf.

Shops will also form a major part of the development.

A new secondary school will also be built to complement the existing Millennium Primary School and additional "community facilities."

The 26,000-seater sports and entertainment arena surrounded by pubs, restaurants and a five-star hotel will be the first stage of the development and work could start next year.

The blueprint was drawn up by Meridian Delta Ltd, English Partnerships and Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) Europe.

Managing director of AEG Europe Detlef Kornett said: "The Dome Arena will provide London with one of the finest entertainment and sport venues in the world and create hundreds of new jobs in the area."

Greenwich Council leader Councillor Chris Roberts said: "We've worked hard over many years to bring large scale investment to one of the country's biggest single regeneration sites.

"We'll be looking closely at the application to make sure it meets our goals of creating a high-quality urban quarter which delivers new jobs and homes, and a significant sustainable contribution to the economy and the environment of the Thames Gateway area."

A full planning application and an outline application for the rest of the peninsula is expected to follow. The plan will also be considered by Mayor of London Ken Livingstone.