A housing project on the site of the former John Brown's shipyard in Clydebank is set to be expanded to include another 400 homes.

The site where the most famous ships in the world were once built is to be a new community with homes, leisure, shops and offices.

It will be called Queens' Quay, after the famous Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth ships built and launched at John Brown's when it was at the height of its productivity last century.

However, after a re-evaluation of demand and location, Clydeside Regeneration Ltd and FM Development wants to cut back on the amount of retail space for the site.

It now wants to build 1600 homes.

Developers have asked West Dunbartonshire Council to lift a number of constraints on planning approval, including the cap of 1200 homes.

A report to councillors being considered today states: "When the outline application was determined it was considered the inclusion of a major retail development on the site was not desirable. As a result, the development now proposed includes a higher proportion of residential developments than was originally planned."

Residential properties will range from tenement-style flats to townhouses and will extend towards the River Clyde, where Clydebank College has been built and the former shipyard's crane turned into a visitor attraction.

The retail element of the proposal will be small scale shops and cafes, not in competition with the larger Clydebank Shopping Centre nearby.

There are believed to be plans for a larger food store in the town centre, removing the need for a major outlet in the shipyard site.

A spokeswoman for FM Developments said: "It was previously envisaged the site might include a food store and more commercial space.

"Design guidelines require us to provide an appropriate urban environment and to achieve this, the housing required has to be provided at a relatively high density."