A MULTI-MILLION pound development that will transform an area near Darlington's railway station could tempt developers back to an abandoned plan for a shopping centre.

The £170m proposal for Central Park, which was launched yesterday by Tees Valley Regeneration (TVR), is expected to bring up to 2,000 jobs to the town.

And regeneration chiefs hope the plan for the site, which includes the relocation of the town's technology college, a hotel, 600 homes and 300,000sq ft of office space, could bring developers back to the drawing board for a £90m shopping centre in the town, which they abandoned recently.

Developer St Martin's Property Group pulled out of the Queen Street and Commercial Street shopping development in September, only months before building work was due to start.

The site has been put up for sale by St Martin's, which said it wanted to focus on projects in London.

TVR hopes the Central Park project will transform a wasted area of prime space near the centre of Darlington.

Project director Neil Graham, of TVR, said: "The impact that this (Central Park) will have could give St Martin's the confidence to come back in maybe a year's time."

Darlington Borough Council is pressing ahead with the plans for the shopping centre, and a revamp of the town centre in the hope of attracting another developer.

TVR, Darlington Borough Council, Darlington College of Technology and architects Gillespies launched the 75-acre Central Park project at the town's Civic Theatre yesterday.

Council leader Councillor John Williams said that while the council was hopeful of attracting a share of the 20,000 civil service jobs that are being moved out of London, the site's focus was also on attracting leading businesses to the town.

As the first impression that more than 10,000 rail passengers will have of Darlington when they pass on the East Coast Mainline, civic leaders hope an attractive development at Central Park could bring even more investment to the Tees Valley.

Development agency One NorthEast has spent £2m acquiring some of the land on the site, and preparatory work to remove pylons and replace them with underground cables will start in December.

Building will also start on the college in December, and it is expected to open in 2006.

Urban planning consultancy Gillespies has been appointed as lead planner on the scheme, having in the past advised on schemes in Newcastle's Grainger Town and Liverpool.

l Public consultation will take place in Darlington regarding Central Park, at Wesley Court Community Centre from 10am to 5pm on Tuesday; Eastbourne Sports Centre, from 11am to 7pm on Wednesday, and in the Queen Street Shopping Centre, from 9am to 5pm on Monday, October 18.