PLANS to turn a former cement works site into a major tourist attraction have taken a leap forward with the submission of an outline planning application.

A Task Force working to bring jobs to Weardale, County Durham, has handed in its bid for a renewable energy village at Eastgate to planners at Wear Valley District Council.

Because the application must go through a validation process, it will be another two weeks before the plans can go on public view.

The force claims the development could be a magnet for tourists as well as providing sustainable homes and work units.

They estimate it will create 350 jobs on site and in the surrounding area and have described it as the Bath of the North because it will contain one of only two public geothermally-heated spas in the country.

It will utilise all five forms of land-based renewable energy available in the UK - wind, solar, biomass, hydro and geothermal and could have facilities for mountain biking and other sports, a hotel and be the last stop on the Weardale Railway.

The planning application will be displayed from the April 14 onwards in Crook Civic Centre, Durham Dales Centre and Wolsingham Library, and will also be available on line at www.weardale-works.co.uk.

There will also be information boards and posters on show at a number of locations, including the Weardale Hub in Stanhope.

The Task Force hopes the application will be approved by the autumn, when it will start the process of submitting detailed applications for various elements.

They have also aid there is strong commercial interest coming from around the country.