A MULTI-MILLION pound racecourse and leisure centre could be built near Redcar by 2005, says a leading property developer.

Lord Zetland said the new racecourse - which is expected to cost more than £100m - would be built at a 537-acre site at Dunsdale Farm, two miles south of the town.

The intention is that the current Redcar course would remain open until the new development was completed. All the racing fixtures would then be moved to the new site.

It had been hoped the course would be open by 2003, but Lord Zetland revised that deadline on Wednesday and said it could be up and running by 2005. He said it had taken longer than expected to secure initial funding.

However, he said he was hopeful of securing the money to conduct a £3.5m feasibility study into the project in the next two months.

Lord Zetland - a 20 per cent shareholder in the existing course - said he was in the process of raising cash from the private sector and had already secured most of what was needed for the feasibility study.

He gave a few clues as to what, aside from racing, could be at the new site.

He said: "It certainly would not involve swings and roundabouts. One candidate could be a sophisticated indoor theme park. We would also look at the possibility of a health farm and a virtual reality history museum, but it's all early days. We intend to work extremely closely with the council."

The current site, which splits the seaside town in two and has been operating since 1872.

Coun David Walsh, leader of Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, said: "Obviously, this project has to be seen in planning terms, and it is early days."