AN international development and banking company is about to unveil its plans for a former east Durham colliery site.

London and Amsterdam, which was responsible for the regeneration of Liverpool's Albert Dock and the renaissance of Newcastle's Quayside, has taken over the reins of the ambitious Dalton Flatts project, at Murton.

The company, which is half-owned by Dutch real estate and banking giants ING, has bought out the site's owners, Matthew Fox Developments.

It was Matthew Fox that initially secured planning permission to transform the old pit site into a £36m retail and lei-sure park, but with little apparent progress being made speculation was mounting that the firm had pulled out.

A spokesman for London and Amsterdam confirmed that while his company has taken over, Matthew Fox will remain involved in the venture.

He praised Matthew Fox Developments for securing the hard-won planning permission, but said that what was needed now was a company with wide-ranging expertise and financial standing.

Dismissing rumours, he gave an assurance that Dalton Flatts would not only be going ahead, but would be " a flagship development".

The project promises to bring upwards of 1,500 jobs to east Durham and, since the takeover by London and Amsterdam, looks set to be a much more ambitious scheme than first thought.

With groundwork about to begin on the site, which skirts the busy A19, the new developers pledged to create a major complex of retail and leisure facilties, which they are confident will attract customers from throughout the region.

Easington District Council's executive director of economic and community development, Bill Scorer, said his authority had been busy working with the developers on the final details of the scheme.

He said: "We are anticipating receiving a detailed submission from the company within the next four weeks for consideration by the district council.

"The basis of the discussion is to ensure the delivery of a scheme of very high quality in order to underpin its future sustainability."