HOUSEBUILDER Shepherd Homes is creating 150 jobs after opening a regional office in Durham.

The move comes as the York-based company unveiled plans to penetrate even further into the North-East region - despite having had a presence there for more than 40 years.

As part of its plans, Shepherd hopes to build even more homes in the region, creating up to 150 direct and indirect jobs.

Shepherd's new regional office is at Belmont Business Park, Durham.

One of the company's schemes was redeveloping the former Gateshead Garden Festival site in the early 1990s.

The group has now taken the decision to formally expand the business further in the North-East.

Shepherd Homes has more than 100 years' experience of homebuilding and is part of the family-owned Shepherd Building Group, which employs 3,500 people and has an annual turnover of more than £600m.

It recently completed an 84-home site in North Tyneside and is about to embark on developments at Lanchester, County Durham; Morpeth in Northumberland; and the former Cock o'the North pub site, near Durham City.

Shepherd Homes' managing director Steve Murray, who is originally from Sunderland, said: "Having built homes in the North-East for as long as we have, we know the region very well.

"When we began to plan our growth strategy it quickly became apparent that the North-East was the most favourable location for us to open an office.

"It has a vibrant, fast growing economy that is benefiting from significant local and central government investment.

"All this leads to an increase in demand for new homes.

"Our land bank is growing and our land buying team are now negotiating across the North-East for further prime sites so that we can provide homebuyers with outstanding properties in great locations."

Initially, the offices will house Shepherd Homes' regional sales and production managers along with land buying, technical, commercial and administrative functions. It is expected that more jobs will be created there as it continues to expand.

Mark Shepherd, chairman of Shepherd Homes, said: "Historically, our sites have always sold well in the North-East. By establishing an office in the region, we will be able to capitalise on the latent demand that exists for the thoughtfully designed homes that we build."