A £30,000 report outlining solutions to job losses in Weardale is likely to be abandoned in favour of one put together in a few hours by councillors and council officers.

The 47-page document, A Rural Renaissance in the Dales, was commissioned six months ago from London consultants GHK, after the announcement of the closure on August 9 of the Lafarge UK Blue Circle cement works, at Eastgate.

But Lafarge workers, in particular, were incensed by some of the ideas put forward by the consultants, whose Vision for Our Future report included creating a Mr Bean playground to attract Japanese tourists.

Solutions to putting back lost jobs include selling Weardale cheese in "the foody shops of the London suburbs", cashing in on Weardale's 235 species of daffodils and turning cement workers into beekeepers to produce honey.

More saunas in bed and breakfast places would appeal to Swedish visitors, and sheep could become a "tourism asset", says the report.

Author Dr Nicholas Miles implies he would like to bring together the dale's three agricultural shows.

He proposes a joint German-UK project to develop Harperley Camp as a tourist attraction, even though new owners James and Lisa McLeod have already got their own scheme well under way.

Although critics concede that there are some positive points in the report, they say that these largely state the obvious.

Some ideas, such as branded local produce, have already been tried through projects including the Weardale Meat Mark, which brought together local producers.

Upper Weardale's Durham county councillor, John Shuttleworth, said: "There is nothing in there that we didn't already know.

"Local people have not been consulted and they have come up with ideas that are insulting to people in the dale.

"They have wasted £30,000 that could have been spent bringing jobs to Weardale.

"The reputation of One NorthEast (the development agency) is on the line here. People were depending on them but they have let them down badly."

"I had great hopes when I heard that Dr John Bridge was leading the task force. He seemed to be the sort of bloke who would made things happen."

Councillor Olive Brown, leader of Wear Valley District Council, said sustainable solutions were needed.

She said: "We have drawn up our own report and we will be putting it to the task force when it meets at Crook on Monday.

"It is our report and it makes a lot more sense. We are confident it will be adopted and will show the way forward."

Yesterday, Dr Bridge outlined details of a £100,000 packages of measures already put into Weardale when he met Councillor Shuttleworth and the chief executives of Wear Valley district and Durham county councils, Iain Phillips and Kingsley Smith.

Dr Bridge said: "During the meeting, I restated that we need to develop a strategy that will safeguard the long-term future of Weardale.

"The report has come in for criticism, but it contains over 60 different ideas which will be taken to shows, libraries and community centres for the public to give their views on how they would like to see things proceed.