A SCHEME to remove the last traces of mining from County Durham's countryside could win approval next week.

On Thursday, Durham County Council's cabinet will consider proposals costing £1m to improve former colliery sites which have already been reclaimed.

The scheme is being regarded as an inland version of Turning the Tide, a project that cleared coal dust from the county's coastline.

During the past 30 years the council has removed acres of dereliction and scores of pit heaps, but the result was sometimes degraded, poor quality farm land that looked little like the landscape that existed before mining.

Now, the council has drawn-up plans for second phase reclamation to restore the natural features and wildlife habitats damaged by mining.

The Woodland and Wildlife Project will see woodland, flower-rich meadows, marshes and ponds on glades created on more than 600 acres of land - providing habitats for numerous wildlife.

The project is part of a £5.8m scheme involving English Nature that aims to revitalise the western part of the River Wear catchment area and the major part of the former Durham coalfield.

The project aims to improve the environment and provide community benefits across a wide area, particularly around Tow Law, Willington, Coundon, Spennymoor, the Cong Burn and Twizell Valleys - near Chester-le-Street - Stanley Burn and the Deerness Valley.

A further area of the River Wear corridor from Low Barns to Croxdale near Durham City will be the focus of wildlife activities.

Councillor Bob Pendlebury, cabinet member for sustainability, said: "The Durham Coalfield suffered from extensive deep coal extraction followed by widespread opencast mining which destroyed natural features and wildlife on a huge scale.

"With the help of voluntary and community groups in the areas involved, our Woodland and Wildlife Project would restore the nature conservation value of land and demonstrate sound environmental sustainability."