AN international hotel operator has signed up to be a part of one of the largest regeneration projects in the North-East.

The unnamed group has signed an agreement with Middlehaven developer BioRegional Quintain to be at the centre of its £200m dockside redevelopment scheme, in Middlesbrough.

The three star hotel will sit alongside the 585 homes, leisure facilities, offices and shops that are planned for the Middlehaven site over the coming years.

Yesterday's announcement was made days after BioRegional Quintain submitted detailed plans to Middlesbrough Council for the first two residential buildings.

Subject to approval, building is expected to start later this year, with construction of the 150-bed hotel to follow in spring next year. Both developments are expected to take a year to complete.

BioRegional Quintain managing director Peter Halsall visited Middlesbrough yesterday to speak to members of the North East Chamber of Commerce about the developments

He announced: "We have signed a heads of agreement with an international hotel operator. We would own the hotel and they would operate it under a management agreement."

The Middlehaven development is being led by Tees Valley Regeneration, and BioRegional Quintain - a joint venture between BioRegional Properties and Quintain Estates and Development PLC1 - was chosen as the developer last November.

The riverside renaissance scheme will transform the landscape of industrial Middlesbrough and bring with it more than 1,000 jobs.

The designs have already received an award at the MIPIM (Architectural Review) Future Projects Awards, in France, beating competition from projects in London, Hong Kong, Paris and Kuala Lumpur.

Yesterday, Mr Halsall said that Middlehaven would be an eco-friendly, sustainable development.

"This will become nationally iconic as a sustainable project," he said.

"It is all very futuristic. It is about reaching out to the future and pulling ideas back into the present."

The scheme is part of a wider development of the derelict Tees Docklands, which will cost about £500m. It includes Terrace Hill's office development and Middlesbrough College.