Plans for a £55m leisure and commercial development at the Tyne Park on the former National Garden Festival site in Gateshead were unveiled today.

The scheme, for wich an outline planning application has been lodged with Gateshead Council, could create 2,500 jobs and attract more than 150,000 visitors a year.

The scheme is the brainchild of North-East businessman Crake Simpson and features as its centrepiece a railway heritage and education centre which will be linked to the National Railway Museum in York.