A DURHAM landmark is due to start its new life as a riverside nightspot in the spring.

Brown's Boathouse, on the banks of the River Wear near Elvet Bridge, is scheduled to open in March as Chase, the city's latest watering hole.

Work has been going on for more than nine months on the £3m project to convert the nineteenth century building, with long links to the city's rowing tradition, into a caf bar for up to 600 people.

The expanding Newcastle-based company Ultimate Leisure originally hoped to have the venue open for Christmas.

The original plan was to demolish it and replace it with a large, glass-fronted pub, a proposal that attracted significant opposition from residents and the City of Durham Trust. The firm was refused planning permission but the decision was overturned when it appealed.

But the scheme had to be scaled down and redesigned to incorporate the existing building because it was found that the redevelopment ran the risk of damaging the city's main water main, which runs nearby.

The city has seen new pubs spring up in the past year or so and several caf bars could be built as part of the redevelopment by Amec of the Walkergate car park, which is due to start this year.