THE company behind one of the North-East's architectural gems has been shortlisted to design a landmark in the region.

Wilkinson Eyre, responsible for Tyneside's award-winning blinking eye Millennium Bridge, is one of the five companies shortlisted for the contract to build a pedestrian crossing of the Tees.

Planners are asking members of the public to have their say on which design should get the go-ahead.

Keith Brownlie, a director at Wilkinson Eyre, said if his firm won the contract Teesside could expect a different design to the Gateshead bridge - nick-named the blinking eye due to its ability to tilt along a horizontal axis - but still one that would be unique.

He said: "I think it would be wrong to suggest we would even try to copy the Gateshead Millennium bridge. We want to give Stockton people something they can be proud of in their own right.

"We are very proud to be on the shortlist of five.

"As a company we are very interested in bridges for many reasons, and one of those is the contribution they make to the townscape. Teesside has a great lineage of bridges such as the Newport and Transporter Bridges, and we would like to continue that."

Gateshead's blinking eye has earned a reputation as one of the country's most striking bridges.

The pedestrian bridge, which spans the River Tyne between Newcastle and Gateshead in the shadow of the Tyne Bridge, pivots to allow ships to pass below.

Since opening two years ago it has attracted thousands of sightseers and picked up a string of international awards.

Stockton's £4m bridge will connect the University of Durham, Queen's Campus Stockton with the multi-million pound Northbank development.

The other four companies bidding for the contract are;

l Future Systems, responsible for the new stand and scoreboard at Lord's Cricket Ground;

l Glenn Howells Architects, designers of the Timber Wharf development in Manchester;

l Lifschutz Davidson Architects, responsible for the Hungerford Bridge across the River Thames;

l Spence Associates, designers of the Turner Centre, at Margate.

Work is expected to start next year but no completion date has been fixed.

Joe Docherty, Tees Valley Regeneration chief executive, said: "It is a tremendously exciting project which will have a huge impact not only on Stockton and Thornaby, but on the whole of the Tees Valley."

* For further information visit the website www.teesvalleyregeneration.co.uk