FASHION designer Wayne Hemingway has been commissioned to help add a touch of style to housing proposed for a derelict part of the 1990 National Garden Festival site.

The founder of the Red or Dead label and his wife, Geraldine, have been asked to contribute to the design of luxury homes which feature in a £70m development planned for the former Dunston Coal Staithes site, in Gateshead.

Wimpey Homes is due to submit proposals for 688 houses for planning permission from Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council this week.

The Hemingways branched out from fashion to interior design last year.