DEVELOPERS hope to deliver a project that could bring hundreds of jobs to the region, The Northern Echo can reveal.

High Point Estates is understood to be talking to a leisure firm that could provide the anchor for a multi-million pound development on the edge of Darlington.

Earlier this year, the future of the former Cummins Engines factory site, in Yarm Road, in the town, was plunged into uncertainty when plans for a £6m JJB Sports Soccerdome - bringing with it 400 jobs - were shelved.

Darlington Borough Council told High Point that plans for a TJ Hughes superstore - to be part of the project - went against Government policy on out-of-town retail development, and that planning permission would be refused.

But the Harrogate company has revised its plans and hopes to secure a well-known leisure operator to become a key part of the plan.

The exact nature of the development is unclear, but High Point bosses confirmed that talks were being held.

Spokesman Mark Warrior said they had reached a sensitive stage in negotiations to develop "a leisure-orientated concept". The company will have to apply to the council for planning permission once its architects have produced a revised blueprint for the Cummins site.

Mr Warrior said: "I'm conscious of what planning consent we can apply for without upsetting the council.

"We bought this site as an investment.

"We could sell it tomorrow and make a profit, but that's not what we want to do."

The old building, with its many columns, has presented a challenge for architects hoping to design a leisure-related conversion, but they are believed to be overcoming those problems.

Mr Warrior also revealed that the collapse of the Soccerdome scheme was not the first setback High Point had suffered with the Cummins site.

About three years ago, the firm was in talks with Sky Television about establishing a call centre that would have given a huge employment boost to Darlington.

"If that had come off, it would have been absolutely phenomenal for the town," said Mr Warrior.

The council has said it would be keen to work with High Point to find a way of revitalising the site.