A MULTI-MILLION pound road and rail freight interchange could be built in the region, near the East Coast Main Line and the A1(M).

A planning application for the facility, which would be part of an office and industrial development on 464 acres of land at Tursdale, near Bowburn, south of Durham City, could be lodged by developers in the next few weeks.

Durham County Council believes it is likely in the future that rail will increasingly be used for long-distance freight haulage, particularly to and from mainland Europe, because of congestion, rising fuel prices and road charging.

A spokesman said: "The existing interchanges in the region are all located at the ports. These are unlikely to have sufficient capacity in the longer term and are not as well located as the site at Tursdale in relation to the regional rail and road networks.''

Council cabinet member Bob Pendlebury said: "The interchange could be extremely important to the region. Hopefully, it would reduce road traffic and would not only be a rail centre, but a centre for business and commercial activities.

"It would serve Tyne and Wear, Tees Valley, County Durham and the surrounding areas, and could link with the region's ports.''

The council says the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister will have to examine the interchange planning application because the North-East Regional Assembly's draft regional spatial strategy envisages such developments primarily happening at the region's ports.

The assembly's strategy manager, Mike Bisset, said: "We are very supportive of proposals for Tursdale, but there is an issue of timescale and market demand. If longer-term trends indicate demand for it and the ports cannot accommodate that demand, then Tursdale comes into the frame."

Andrew Sugden, policy director of the North-East Chamber of Commerce, said: "We would need to see final plans and the expected market for this facility before we could make any definitive comment.

"However, there are significant issues around the freight infrastructure in the North-East. If there is a means in which this can be tied in to increased ports and airports development, it could be very welcome."