DURHAM'S Labour MP is calling for a rethink on the £25m redevelopment of the Walkergate car park.

Gerry Steinberg, who originally supported the scheme, said he has had a change of heart and now feels the latest blueprint will do little to boost the city centre's appeal.

The scheme, by developer Amec, is part-funding the £30m Millennium City complex. It has changed several times since it was first mooted by the then Labour-controlled city council.

One major element of the early proposals, a multiplex cinema, was scrapped because operators did not believe it would make money.

The scheme approved by the city council, which is now run by the Liberal Democrats, is for a 94-bed hotel, six pub/restaurants, a bar, 35 apartments and a 500-space multi-storey car park. Work is due to start next month.

Amec has said the project would create 250 construction jobs and 300 jobs when the development was completed.

The development is controversial because the council, under Labour, drew up plans to use The Sands recreation area as a temporary car park during construction.

Mr Steinberg, a Labour leader of the city council in the 1980s, recently weighed in on the side of residents fighting the idea.

Liberal Democrat leader Sue Pitts has said previously the council hoped to find an alternative site but, if it was not feasible, might still have to press ahead with using The Sands.

Mr Steinberg, who plans to stand down at the next election, said The Sands controversy had led him to reconsider the entire scheme.

"Initially, I was excited about the development, which originally included a cinema, as I believed the scheme would revitalise the area.

"It now appears, however, that the facilities provided will simply be caf bars, a pub, and a budget hotel," he said.

"This seems to me an ineffective use of a valuable site that could significantly contribute to the continued development of the city.

"The proposals will do nothing to generate activity or interest in the area.

"The development is being described as a new leisure and entertainment scheme but, unfortunately, there appears to be little entertainment or leisure evident."

In 1999, Mr Steinberg said the scheme was an "excellent opportunity to regenerate an area that has been in decline for some time'' and that he was dismayed the proposals were being criticised by local groups.