A REGENERATION scheme which has transformed the coal-blackened North-East coastline has been ranked alongside Cornwall's acclaimed Eden Project as a top award winner.

Turning the Tide, a project to transform the former east Durham coalfield into a coastal heritage site, has jointly won the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors' (RICS) 2001 award for outstanding achievement in regeneration.

It shares the accolade, presented last night by television personality Loyd Grossman, with the internationally-renowned Eden Project.

At its height, the coalfield employed 25,000 people and generated 2.4m tons of waste each year, most of which was dumped in the North Sea.

It left a legacy of beaches covered in colliery spoil, derelict buildings and severe damage to the local environment, and the whole area became a target for vandals, joyriders and fly tippers.

Over five years, 14 organisations worked together to remove 1.3m tonnes of spoil and reclaim 80 hectares of land.

The partnership also made grants available to local communities, allowing them to undertake their own projects, and created more than 20km of footpaths and 47km of cycle ways.

RICS president, Peter Faulkner, said: "This is an outstanding example of co-operation between local authorities, businesses and the public working together to successfully reverse years of environmental damage.

"Focusing on local needs, while contributing to social and economic regeneration, this must provide a role model for other projects in years to come."

Two further RICS awards, described as the environmental Oscars, were won by Newcastle's Central Square.

The former postal sorting depot won one for energy efficiency and the other for regeneration, after it was converted into modern office accommodation.

Newcastle International Airport, Northumberland's Stocksfield Hall and Newcastle's former Union Club were shortlisted for awards.

Peter Smith, chairman of the RICS Awards North-East assessment panel, who is based in Newcastle, said: "The fact that Turning the Tide is right up alongside the Eden Project, and that Central Square is the only entry to win two awards, points to how good they are."