RADICAL plans have been revealed to deal with Durham City's growing housing crisis - by selling off dozens of plots of council-owned land for development and pumping millions of pounds back into council and community services.

The ambitious five-year plan, which could transform the face of the city centre and have a major impact on surrounding villages, will go before the city council's cabinet for discussion on Monday.

Among the main proposals are:

* Closing the council's Byland Lodge offices, along with other smaller council offices, and selling the £3m city centre site for redevelopment

* Building a £4m out-of-town council office at Meadowfield and updating the council's computer systems

* Selling off pockets of land in the city centre, including £1.2m of land in West Milburngate, £250,000 in Closegate, near the proposed Radisson Hotel development, and a £150,000 plot behind Fowlers Yard

* Selling off dozens of smaller plots of land in the villages surrounding the city for housing, including some to the Durham Villages Regeneration Company (DVRC) for low-cost starter homes, some to housing associations for social housing and some to private developers, which is expected to bring in a total of £17m

* Diverting some of the cash to build the city's long-awaited £5.8m swimming pool, new community centres next to Abbey Leisure Centre and at Sherburn Hill, and setting up pots of cash under the Flourishing Communities programme for further improvements to the former coalfield villages.

Council leader Fraser Reynolds said: "The financial stability of the council now allows us to plan for the next five years.

"It is a bold, imaginative and confident strategy. This programme will deliver our vision for the city."

The blueprint has been drawn up in response to the city's chronic housing shortage, which has taken a dramatic turn for the worse in recent years due to the house-price boom which has priced many of those wanting a first home out of the market.

Members of the council's cabinet will discuss the proposals at a specially-convened meeting in the Gala Theatre on Monday.