PLANS have been drawn up to build hundreds of homes and a business park near a North-East village, that developers say could lead to 4,500 new jobs and contribute £2.7bn to the regional economy.

A 175,000 square metre site just off junction 61 of the A1 at Bowburn, near Durham City has been earmarked by Citrus Group for new offices, warehousing, a hotel, shops and hundreds of houses.

Integra61 is the name for the proposed development that will be one of the largest of its kind in the North-East.

Proposals for the site include the construction of up to 1.7 million sq ft of industrial and distribution units, office space, a 70-bedroom hotel, shops, a gym, nursery and up to 300 new homes along its boundaries close to Bowburn Village.

Citrus Group said the investment value of the project could reach £160m once complete. The group is working closely with Durham County Council and other stakeholders to produce an outline planning application ready for submission before the end of the year. Infrastructure work on the site could start at the beginning of 2017, subject to planning permission.

David Cullingford, development manager for London-based Citrus Group said: “We’re 100 per cent committed to Integra61. This will be a landmark development for the North-East and County Durham in particular.

“We’ve been diligently working over many months to reach this position where we can publicly announce our intentions. We’re acutely aware there have been false dawns with this site in the past. We have assembled a large and experienced team to ensure we deliver a scheme that would add substantial economic value to the region.”

Citrus Group will be holding a public consultation event on Wednesday July 15 at Bowburn Community Centre, where the proposals will be on display and representatives from Citrus Group and its professional team will be available to answer questions. The consultation event will run from noon until 7.00pm.