It is being hailed as the turning point that could take County Durham in a new direction, away from mining and into the scientific age. Business Editor Julia Breen looks at Netpark, in Sedgefield.

TEAR-streaked, coal-blackened faces were once the image County Durham presented to the rest of the world. But on the grassy site of a former psychiatric hospital, near Sedgefield, groups of scientists are quietly building the county's reputation of the future.

One day, it is hoped, the area will be remembered for the scientific breakthroughs developed here by connecting academia and business.

The North-East Technology Park - or Netpark, as it is known - could be the key to the prosperity of the whole region.

Moving away from the traditional industries of coal, steel and shipbuilding brought investors to the region, such as Samsung.

They built factories and filled them with workers who had been left idle by the collapse of the traditional industries, and then moved production to countries where labour costs were even cheaper, leaving only unemployment behind.

The North-East - particularly County Durham - has learned from such mistakes, and is now taking control of its own destiny rather than leaving it in the hands of a few foreign investors.

Even so, Netpark was a leap of faith. Most business or science parks rely on private sector finance.

"There was a feeling that if we wanted the science park to actually get built, we would have to just build it," said Alan Bramble, of the County Durham Development Company (CDDC).

"We thought we could have been waiting years for it to go ahead if we went down the private sector route, so we decided to get the buildings up so at least we had something positive to offer.

"Netpark is still in its early stages, with just a handful of companies and satellite offices of two of One NorthEast's centres of excellence, but it is showing real, viable products and companies already."

Netpark comprises two parts - a so-called incubator unit, in which small, science-based companies can grow, with offices and laboratory space, as well as a business support infrastructure, and a research centre.

The five universities in the region are linked with Netpark and graduate start-ups, or academic spin-out companies, are being invited to use the Netpark facility.

There are 13 hectares of land that has potential for development, but if Netpark proves a success, there is a potential for up to 100 hectares.

CDDC and the Netpark steering committee were inspired to build the park by a visit to North Carolina, in the US.

Professor John Anstee, the former pro-vice chancellor of Durham University, who is now scientific director at Netpark, said: "A similar project was set up in North Carolina during the late 1950s. They were similar to us in that they had lost their traditional industries and there were very high levels of unemployment and a substantial underclass.

"They had three world-class universities though, so they took advantage of the business opportunities from those, and this has moved North Carolina from next to bottom in gross domestic product in the US to something like 23rd in 40 years.

"Unemployment dropped phenomenally, from 18 per cent to 3.5 per cent.

"They now have over 40,000 people employed on the park, all in knowledge-based companies, and there are multi-national companies there, with a huge GlaxoSmithKline research presence.

"It is the sort of vision we are trying to emulate here."

CDDC is marketing Netpark nationally and internationally.

It is part of a pan-European business forum and is working with regional development agency One NorthEast to develop links with Chinese companies.

But one of Netpark's key roles is to provide employment opportunities for the 15,000 to 20,000 scientists graduating from the region's five universities each year.

Prof Anstee said: "There is an awful lot of incredibly good science, engineering and technology going on in the North-East and we need to capitalise on this asset to the benefit of local people.

"Aspirations among the young are traditionally quite low. Industry here has traditionally been founded on a small number of mass employers that were replaced by inward investors who, in turn, left behind them a skilled workforce.

"Up until a year or two ago, the universities were haemorrhaging all their talent out of the region, but I think more graduates are starting to stay now.

"We have to have the sort of businesses that young people want to go into. At the moment, they feel they have to move to the South-East, so we need to find ways of hanging on to them.

"If we can create higher-level jobs, making us into a knowledge-based economy, that means they may stay.

"We are not just talking about people with PhDs and graduates, we need skilled technicians as well.

The region has particular skills, which can now be applied to novel, high-tech, innovative companies and research."

When the Prime Minister and Sedgefield MP Tony Blair opened the Netpark research institute last summer, he said it was proof that CDDC meant business about reshaping the region's fortunes.

It is hoped that the entire 1,000 acre site at Netpark will be full of major investors by 2023, with at least 100 people working in the research institute alone.

Mr Bramble said: "Gone are the days when we aspired to be reliant on large-scale inward investment.

"We want to control our own destiny in the future."