Hotel and rail museum scheme forbirthplace of Stephenson's Rocket

Plans have been revealed for a £30m hotel and a railway museum in Newcastle city centre.

The 250-bedroom four- or five-star development will be built alongside the site where steam-engine pioneer George Stephenson built his famous Rocket.

The old engine sheds, which date back to the 1820s, will be converted into a museum designed to rival York's National Railway Museum.

The plans have been unveiled by Newcastle developer Closegate, the company that developed the Copthorne hotel site on the city's popular Quayside. Its latest plans are for the Forth Banks area, which was a run-down part of the city but is being brought back to life, with plans for offices, restaurants and leisure facilities. There is already a casino in the area.

Closegate said an international hotel operator was involved in the project.

The plans are expected to go before Newcastle City Council in the next few weeks.