A modern memorial to lost mining jobs in Seaham

The Seaham Regeneration Scheme was part of a project set up to deal with the impact of the closure of local collieries and the major job losses.

Its aims were to reclaim and redevelop the former colliery, provide better access to the town, encourage new industry and create jobs.

Work started on the site in September 2000 and was completed last April.

The scheme won an Objective 2 Award for excellence in the use of European funding and the construction category in the 2004 Institution of Civil Engineers Robert Stephenson Awards.

'Imaginative solutions'

The awards recognise excellence in design, construction and innovation in projects in Northumbria, Cumbria and Teesside.

Durham County Council deputy chief executive (environment), Chris Tunstall, said: "The Seaham Regeneration Scheme has been a complex and demanding project which has called for imaginative solutions to difficult problems.

"It has involved a package of works which have changed the shape and hopefully the fortunes of the town with new industry to the south, new housing to the north and the possibility of an improved town centre with new retail, office, housing and tourism developments.

"We and our partners are delighted to have won this prestigious award."

The Seaham scheme was one of the flagship project of the East Durham Task Force's programme for action, which was drawn up more than 10 years ago.

It has been funded jointly by One NorthEast, Durham County Council, District of Easington, Defra, GONE and the European Regional Development Fund.