Staff behind the city council's £25m Living Landmarks Lottery bid - which proposes an exciting development of the
waterfront - will know on Friday if their bid has passed stage one.
Three new bridges, a landmark public square and a lighthouse are among the key features of the plans.
There are 150 other projects vying for funding from the £140m available.
Lottery bosses are currently leafing through the detailed proposals to see if the scheme is worthy of a site visit.
Once the first hurdle is passed the project will be given a score and listed for a site visit in April.
There will be 70 plans on the shortlist for a site visit, which will be whittled down to 30 in May.
If the waterfront development is in the final 30, the council will be asked to prepare a final detailed bid.
A final decision on who gets full funding will be made in June 2007.
Council chief executive David Wareing said: "Projects need to have a 'wow' factor if they are to have any chance of success and we certainly feel that our plans have something special about them."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article