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TWO key projects that could draw more tourists to the North- East should be included in a controversial Government planning document, say councillors.

The Eastgate Renewable Energy Village, in Weardale, and its transport partner the Weardale Railway, could together be nationally significant, according to the Wear Valley District's regeneration committee.

They are pressing for both schemes to be listed in a Regional Spatial Strategy, drawn up by the North-East Assembly, for publication this summer and presently being revised.

Wear Valley's Labour leader Councillor Neil Stonehouse said that leaving out Eastgate, which would be the first centre in the country to heat homes, work units and tourist attractions using energy from wind, water, solar, biomass and geothermal sources, was "a nonsense".

He said: "The Regional Economic Strategy recognises it, One NorthEast recognises it, but the Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) doesn't. The energy village is so important to our economic development that it seems perverse not to follow the link through. It is the biggest site in the North-East and, potentially, a nationally important development, with the railway crucial to getting people there."

The council is also pressing for recognition for the A68 as a strategically important eastwest transport route and has objected to the deletion of a ten per cent target for sustainable energy on new developments.

Last year, The Northern Echo backed politicians and business leaders in highlighting failings in the RSS, launching a Shaping the Future campaign to press for changes and handing a dossier of evidence to Hazel Blears, the Communities and Local Government Minister.

She announced concessions in a revised draft, including allowing more houses to be built in County Durham, reinstating key projects that create extra space for new businesses such as the Tursdale freight depot, near Bowburn, and allowing further expansion at the Netpark science park in Sedgefield.

8:44am Thursday 27th March 2008

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