A MULTI-MILLION pound retail park development is giving a new commercial lease of life to a rundown corner of Durham City.

And as the Durham City Retail Park complex nears completion, the ambitious project is also realising the fulfilment of a vision of two prominent North-East businessmen - the late Ian McIntyre and Sunderland developer Joe Laidler.

It was eight years ago, with a swathe of industrial land in their ownership, when the pair had a dream of carrying out a major development at Dragonville, in Durham.

After a failed attempt to establish a Morrisons supermarket, they formed Dragonville Developments Ltd, (DDL) and proceeded to piece together further parcels of land to establish a 200,000sq ft retail park.

In 2002, Mr McIntyre died suddenly, just as the venture was finally coming together, leaving his wife, Nancy, and a long-serving colleague, Pauline Black, working alongside Mr Laidler to carry on the project.

The planning application for the retail park was called in by the Deputy Prime Minister's department, but later received full planning permission. Since then, it has been full steam ahead for the DDL team to complete the scheme.

"Ian was a brilliant businessman, and I wish I had met him 30 years earlier,'' said Mr Laidler.

"His untimely death has meant other members of his family and staff taking on new mantles, and they have quite simply done an excellent job and Ian would have been so proud of them for realising his dream."

The new project will bring up to 700 jobs to the area.

Company secretary Pauline Black said: "DDL's investment in this site is bringing much needed national retailers to the east of Durham City to meet consumer demand.''

Ensuring the huge role that Mr McIntyre played in the development will never be forgotten, the link road through the retail park has been officially named McIntyre Way.

At the opening of the roadway, carried out by the Mayor of Durham, Councillor Mary Hawgood, Mrs McIntyre said: "The completion of this development brings together a mixture of emotions - poignancy, excitement, a sense of achievement and pride, but also great sadness. For the retail park was my late husband's dream.''