A REDUNDANT cement works could regain its place at the heart of a North Pennines community if ambitious plans for an eco-village come to fruition.

Full details of the project have been unveiled for the first time and today a newsletter will be delivered to the people of Weardale and the Wear Valley, in County Durham.

It will show how the former Lafarge UK cement works at Eastgate could be transformed to create a new village, which would be self- sufficient, setting an example for the rest of the country.

The project would feature a renewable energy centre, driven by hot rocks already discovered beneath the site, and boast a combination of wind, water, solar, biomass and geothermal energy unparalleled in the country.

It would have the potential to heat and light 4,000 homes, which would create an opportunity for the whole of Weardale to be self-sufficient.

The design leaves space to house more than 100 families and includes accommodation for small and medium-sized businesses as well as a hotel and other holiday facilities.

The star attraction at the centre of the village will be the public hot springs, which will sit in a domed structure created in a garden.

It would offer visitors and residents the opportunity to relax in open-air or covered warm water pools whilst enjoying views of the surrounding countryside.

Next to that would be a crescent with shops and cafs.

Sport would play a key part in the new attraction with dry toboggan runs and a ski training area using snow artificially made on site.

Existing sports pitches would be improved and there would be a bowling green and a leisure centre.

There would also be a fish farm, which would utilise the hot water to breed exotic species, along with a plant nursery, which would take advantage of the temperatures to produce unusual blooms.

The development could play a role in encouraging funders to back the troubled Weardale Railway, which features as an important part of the proposals.

The idea is that visitors would get to the attraction using the revived line.

Residents of the dale will be asked for their opinion on the proposals and it is hoped to submit an outline planning application by early next year.

A spokesman for the Weardale Task Force, the partnership which has drawn up the proposals, said "This would mark a major step forward in the implementation of our regeneration strategy for the dale.

"Preliminary estimates indicate that, when fully built, the redevelopment of the Eastgate works and quarries could result in a substantial number of jobs on site, potentially more than were ever employed by the cement works."