DETAILS of a multi-million pound hotel development by Dragon's Den entrepreneur Duncan Bannatyne are expected to be unveiled within the next week.

Bannatyne Hotels Ltd is poised to reveal its plans for a 50-bedroom hotel in Durham City, next to the existing Bannatyne Health Club in the Belmont area of the city.

The three-storey hotel will be the second opened by the company, following its development of the former New Grange Hotel, in Darlington.

Few details of the development have been released, although it is believed to include plans for a 40-seat dining area and 20-space car park, linked to the 150-spaces at the adjacent health club.

Nigel Armstrong, managing director of the Darlington-based hotel company, said: "Hotel Bannatyne in Durham will offer business travellers to the North-East high quality, cost-effective accommodation. It will enhance the site in Belmont alongside the established Bannatyne's Health Club and confirm Durham as a hub for North-East business activity."

An initial application for the development was refused in February 2005 by Durham City Council, but the company won an appeal in August.

The business is the latest in a series of major hotel developments planned for the city.