A FIRM of North Yorkshire architects has designed a new city the size of London which looks likely to be built in China.

DSP Architects, based in York, devised the concept design of a 136 square kilometre conurbation - to be called Tuan Bo City - near to the Chinese city of Tianjin.

The development is planned as an overspill for the rapidly expanding Chinese population.

It will be built on the shores of a dried-out lake which will be pumped full of water.

The concept was to create an ecological city based, as the Chinese like their developments to have a story, on an evolutionary theme with life emerging from the recreated lake.

There will be different zones for forestry, wildlife, industrial and residential uses with an integrated transport policy catering for cars, buses and bicycles linked to ferries using the lake and a canal system. Part of the city and a theme park will be built upon artificial islands on the lake.

It is one of three schemes for DSP, the others being a 2.5square kilometre auto retail park and a 158-bedroom, 12-storey business hotel.

The work is a remarkable leap in fortunes for the 13-strong practice, whose previous biggest project was the £20m simultaneous refurbishment of five supermarkets for Co-operative Retail Services.

DSP won the work after being recommended by another consultant.

David Spencer, DSP owner, said: "We have never been ones to shirk a challenge. It has given us all a huge lift. As a Yorkshire practice we do not get the opportunity to carry out conceptual design for a whole new city - let alone the other projects. It just does not happen."

The concept city, which would take ten years to build, is now awaiting clearance from the authorities in China