COUNCIL chiefs last night pledged to fight a "diabolical" planning blueprint which threatens the future of two flagship developments expected to create thousands of jobs.

The report threatens to undermine economic regeneration in County Durham, suggesting that the expansion of science park Netpark, in Sedgefield, should be limited, and the proposed rail freight interchange at Tursdale, near Durham, should be scrapped.

Durham County Council yesterday urged residents and businesses to voice their opposition to the suggestions outlined in the draft Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS), to Secretary of State Ruth Kelly.

The RSS is the planning blueprint that will determine development in the region for the next 15 years.

Netpark is expected to create more than 1,000 jobs over the next five years through a series of developments including a £20m innovation village and a £10m centre for plastic electronics.

While these projects have already been approved and are not directly under threat, any further development at Netpark - seen as being key to the future of the regional economy - could be stopped.

This is because the RSS says that the research and development potential of the region's universities would be better exploited at the Baltic Business Park or Newcastle Great Park, rather than Netpark.

The report also suggests that the proposed Tursdale freight terminal - a 480-acre road-rail interchange linking the East Coast Main Line and A1(M) - should not be included in the strategy.

Members of the county council's cabinet were told on Thursday that, in its present form, the RSS would stifle economic development and prosperity in the area and leave it a comparative desert between the flourishing city conurbations of Tyneside, to the north, and Tees Valley, to the south.

The suggestions about Netpark and Tursdale were not in the original draft put together by the North-East Assembly, but were added by Government inspectors earlier this year following consultation.

The document will be submitted to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, who will publish a revised version for consultation later this winter, at which point, the county council - and other stakeholders - can register their views.

The final document is due to be published next spring.

Councillor Alan Cox told the cabinet meeting: "This is the most negative report I have ever read in terms of what it could do to County Durham. It's a diabolical report, which effectively puts a block on everything we are trying to do."

Council Leader Albert Nugent said he feared the strategy outlined in the document could "blight" County Durham.

"We want to see the City regions develop, but not at the expense of County Durham and its 500,000 residents," he added. "We shall be making very robust representations to the Secretary of State when she publishes the consultative strategy document."