A MASTERPLAN that sets out an ambitious 20-year vision for County Durham was launched last week.

The aim is to make 'dynamic Durham' a great county to live, work and invest in and to visit.

Prime Minister Tony Blair attended the launch, which was held during the formal handing over of the multi-million pound NetPark Research Institute in Sedgefield village.

The draft document was launched in April last year and has been subject to widespread consultation, during which every resident in the county was invited to have a say.

Durham County Council leader Ken Manton said: "The vision is unique in the county's history and will serve as the key tool in shaping its future."

The plan hinges on the successful completion of 12 challenges:

* Providing world class schools

*Making NetPark the hub of knowledge-based industries

*Creating a strong tourism sector built around Durham City

*Expanding shopping, culture and leisure facilities

*Improving health to match the national average

*Developing an integrated transport system

*Taking a radical approach to housing

*Proving easy access to services promoting healthy, caring, diverse and balanced communities

*Providing a range of quality choices to young people leaving school

*Developing a network of computer-connected community hubs

*Building a strong voluntary and community sector

*Enhancing the environment and reducing waste.

Coun Manton said: "The vision describes sustainable improvements that can be made without making things worse for future generations or environments, communities or economies either here or in other parts of the world.

"The whole document is underpinned by a determination to ensure that community needs and aspirations are met and much needed investment is brought into the county."

He added: "Put simply, in 2023, we want a quality of life in County Durham that is second to none anywhere in the country."

Mr Blair endorsed the vision, describing it as "a very exciting moment for County Durham."

He recalled a meeting at county hall in the Eighties when former leader Mick Terrans, a branch official in the 1926 general strike, declared that the coal industries were finished and it was time to look to the future.

Mr Blair said: "From that time on I could feel County Durham beginning to change."