THIS is one of the first stunning images of how a world-class Wild Bird Discovery Centre will look.

The winning design for the innovative project at the new Saltholme International Nature Reserve in the Tees Valley has been announced by the RSPB and Teesside Environmental Trust.

The £4.1m wild bird discovery centre zone will be at the heart of a scheme by the two organisations, who are working together to transform 1,000 acres of former industrial land on the north Tees into a world-class nature reserve.

It is the largest wetland restoration project in the North of England and more than 100,000 people are expected to visit each year.

The creation of lakes, pools, grasslands and reedbeds will attract rare wildlife to the area, boosting the Tees Valley's biodiversity.

Species of birds likely to colonise the area include bittern, marsh harrier and bearded tit.

The same habitats will also encourage popular wildlife such as kingfishers, swans, herons, butterflies and dragonflies.

The chosen design features a futuristic structure that emerges out of the lakeside landscape through a feather-like roof structure, rising from a single ground-storey to a panoramic second-storey viewing tower.

Visitors will reach the centre by a drawbridge over the water, where they can then visit an education centre, caf, exhibition space and offices.

Newcastle-based architects, Jane Darbyshire & David Kendall (JDDK) Ltd have been chosen to create the building. The project goes for detailed planning consent in December and subject to obtaining the necessary funding, construction is due to start in October next year.

Civil Engineering work on access roads will begin in May. Completion is expected in October 2007 with the centre due to open to the public early in 2008.