ONE of the region's biggest and brightest new waterfront developments is the next regeneration scheme in the North-East to receive the attention of Terrace Hill.

Partners involved in Middlesbrough's Middlehaven project appointed property development company Terrace Hill as a preferred developer after a design competition which received interest from a number of local and national development teams.

The company will work up proposals for a 1.77-hectare section of the 16-hectare Middlehaven phase one.

This will include four office buildings, retail and caf units and a multi-storey car park arranged around a dockside promenade with landscaped courtyards and public squares.

Terrace Hill has worked with architects Red Box Design Group on the project.

Philip Leech, director of Terrace Hill, believes that the design proposals it has developed will transform the area into a thriving, commercial and leisure site.

"Red Box Design Group has developed some stunning, contemporary architecture that demonstrates the latest thinking in sustainable building design making full use of the potential of the site," he said.

"The office accommodation will be of the highest specification and will feature leading edge ICT systems.

"Glazed atria and facades will maximise the role of light and space to create a unique working environment."

Joe Docherty, Tees Valley Urban Regeneration company chief executive, said that the appointment of a preferred developer was a catalyst in the forward regeneration programme for Middlehaven which, as a former dockland area, had already undergone extensive remediation work in preparation for this next redevelopment phase.

He said: "A considerable amount of work has been done by the partners - TVR, English Partnerships, Middlesbrough Council, One NorthEast and Able UK - to plan this project and prepare the first phase for development. I am pleased we will soon be able to open a new chapter in the redevelopment of Middlesbrough and its economy.

"Terrace Hill has established an excellent reputation for its development work both regionally and nationally."

He added: "We are confident that their proposals will breathe new life into the dockside area.

The Terrace Hill development is expected to be on site in the autumn.