Ambitious plans to transform one of the region's leading tourist attractions look set to get the go-ahead next week.

A meeting of Hartlepool Borough Council's cabinet on November 1 will be asked to approve new ideas for the warship HMS Trincomalee and the surrounding Historic Quay and Museum.

Key to the proposals will be closer working between the council, which owns the Historic Quay and Museum, and the charity The HMS Trincomalee Trust, which restored and owns the ancient warship Trincomalee, which is docked at the quay.

Promoting the Trincomalee and the Quay as a single attraction and creating better visitor facilities and a Trincomalee exhibition are just some of the ideas being put forward. Other proposals for the whole Historic Quay area include a radical relocation of the nearby paddle steamer Wingfield Castle.

Highlights of the blueprint are:

* The Trincomalee staying permanently in the dock at the Historic Quay, rather than being moved from the Quay to the neighbouring Jackson Dock, as originally planned.

* A single ticket system from April 2005, covering entry to both the Trincomalee and the Historic Quay, and branding them as a single attraction to maximise their tourism potential.

* Marketing the empty land on the south side of the Jackson Dock, next to the Museum of Hartlepool and the paddle steamer Wingfield Castle, with the aim of attracting a private sector developer for a mixed-use development.

* Investigating whether the paddle steamer Wingfield Castle could be lifted out of the water and permanently sited on land as an extension to the Museum of Hartlepool.

Stuart Green, the council's Head of Planning and Economic Development, said: "The Trincomalee, the Historic Quay and its associated attractions are the jewels in Hartlepool's tourism crown.

"However, tourism is a highly competitive area, and to stay ahead of the competition we must always keep improving what we have to offer."

Bryn Hughes, General Manager of the HMS Trincomalee Trust, said: "This is an exciting set of proposals that should reinforce Hartlepool's place firmly on the tourism map by combining the acknowledged strengths of both the Trincomalee and the Historic Quay as award-winning attractions.