The new look Stanhope Estate should be completed by 2012

The project for the Stanhope Estate in Ashford ground to a halt last year when the council said it had lost confidence in the consortium running it.

Three bidders short listed for the multi-million pound regeneration project will now show residents what they would do if awarded the contract.

Their plans will be on show at three exhibitions over the next two days.

Plans to redevelop the estate, built in the 1960s, began in 2004 when two blocks of flats were demolished amid hopes that a £50m regeneration scheme would improve the area.

However, the scheme ran into trouble last May following Ashford Borough Council's decision to look for new Private Finance Initiative partners.

It is now hoped a residents panel working alongside council officers will be able to decide on who should be the new developer for the troubled estate.