TWO multi-million pound developments in County Durham could create more than 6,000 jobs in the region, it emerged last night.

The Northern Echo has learned that private property group Durham Green Developments is building a major business park on more than 220 hectares of land off the A1, at Bowburn, County Durham, which is expected to create more than 5,000 jobs in its first phase.

And a further thousand jobs could be created on an 100-acre site on the edge of Aycliffe Industrial Estate, in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, as developers build a massive retail distribution centre.

The Durham Green Business Park was cleared by planners at Durham County Council this week and will be one of the North-East's largest projects of its type.

Its first 30-acre phase will entail 500,000sq ft of office space which is expected to create 5,000 jobs.

Developers hope to attract civil service jobs from Whitehall, call centres and international companies, particularly from the Far East and Middle East, looking to invest in the North-East.

It will comprise large office buildings of about 1,000sq ft to house larger employers.

The project is one of the first to get past a block by the Highways Agency of any further development on the A1.

Because the A1 is over-capacity, the Highways Agency has been using its powers to stall developments, particularly in the north of the region.

Ray Ruddick, site co-ordinator at Durham Green Developments, said: "Because it is off Junction 61, south of Durham, it isn't as congested as the other junctions on the A1.

"But it has still taken us a year of negotiations with the Highways Agency to get through the planning stage.

"However, that gives us an advantage because other developments so close to the road are being blocked. It puts us at a unique advantage."

Meanwhile, the logistics centre in Newton Aycliffe is expected to create more than 1,000 jobs.

Joint owners of the land, Durham County Council and Sedgefield Borough Council, have reserved the Heighington Lane site for almost a decade waiting for a large-scale project that could not be accommodated elsewhere in the county.

The two councils and regional development agency One NorthEast, which also has a stake in the site, marketed the land and, after meeting with prospective developers, a preferred buyer has been selected.

The unnamed developer is understood to have a major retailer lined up to move into the 1.5million sq ft logistics centre - which will include a large warehouse and offices.

Councillor Brian Walker, deputy leader of the county council, said the site, which is close to the A1 motorway and central to Tyne and Wear and Teesside, is ideal for retailers such as supermarkets and clothes shops who need to distribute goods quickly.

He said: "This is an exciting development which demonstrates that County Durham continues to be an attractive area for large scale industrial development.

"The project will bring significant benefits in terms of jobs and helps in our drive to create a varied economy in the county."

Subject to planning consent, work on the site will start early next summer.