THE Duchess of Northumberland's garden, at Alnwick Castle, in Northumberland, will be pitched against the best projects in the world after winning a North-East award for excellence.

The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) voted for the garden following the "outstanding" contribution it has made to the region.

At the RICS' North-East Renaissance awards, two regeneration projects in the Longbenton area of Newcastle were named project of the year.

Longbenton has been the focus of improvements in recent years, led by Longbenton Single Regeneration Partnership, North Tyneside Council, North Tyneside Challenge, regional development agency One NorthEast and Yuill Homes.

The Oxford Centre, a community centre in Longbenton, and the wider Longbenton project to build better housing, jointly won the award.

Saltwell Towers, in Gateshead, was named best building conservation; the Longbenton Project was best regeneration project; Sunderland's Venerable Bede School won the sustainability prize, and the Oxford Centre was named best for the community benefit.

The winners are automatically entered into the international RICS awards, later this year. Previous international winners have included the Eden Project, in Cornwall and London's Royal Opera House.