A DISUSED Weardale quarry is the unlikely setting for a prime-time TV blockbuster.

ITV has submitted a planning application to Durham County Council for temporary use of the former Eastgate Cement Works site to film a new series that is planned for a five-year run and which it hopes will take on the dominance of the BBC's Dr Who on a Saturday night.

The drama, called Beowulf and based on the Scandinavian legend which was brought to the big screen in 2007 when Ray Winstone starred, will be filmed in County Durham and Northumberland next year and should be ready to air in January 2016.

The large-scale production could potentially bring £25,000 a day into the the local economy.

ITV is seeking permission to build a substantial film-set in the former Eastgate quarry, including a Mead Hall, 20 houses, a forge, mining walkways and jetties.

Plans indicate the set would be built over the winter months, ready for filming to begin in March next year.

A total of 13 one-hour episodes will be shot between next March and October, when up to 100 cast and crew will be on site during each day of filming.

County Councillor John Shuttleworth said the plans were a step in the right direction and would bring something positive to the area.

“It’s going to give Weardale something that it doesn’t have, it could create jobs, help local businesses and it’s a five-year project so it could really benefit the area,” he said.

The adaptation of the classic tale is set in the Dark Ages and revolves around life in the Norse town of Herot, a mining community.

Professional film carpenters and painters will build the structures and up to 30 employees will work on the site to construct the set, which will be complimented by an off-site interior of the Mead Hall.

ITV said: “We plan to make use of as many local businesses as we can. We have already made contact with the local quarries, timber yards, builder’s yards and plant-hire companies and we will work with them accordingly.

“Figures compiled over the past few years by Northern Film and Media would indicate a local spend of around £25,000-a-day on a production of this scale.”

To view the planning application, visit publicaccess.durham.gov.uk/online-applications and search for reference DM/14/03416/FPA.