New rail construction jobs could be created in Northern Ireland after plans for the development of an eco-village in County Antrim were given the green light.

The £100 million harbour project at Magheramorne will include a heritage railway and visitor centre as well as new road and rail links.

It will also consist of 450 environmentally-friendly homes and a range of business and retail units, such as a hotel, a community centre, film studios and an art gallery.

Announcing the scheme, environment minister Sammy Wilson said: "With strategic rail and road transport links readily available due to its close proximity to Larne, one of the gateways to Northern Ireland, this will provide a boost for the tourism industry across the province.

"Two hundred years of quarrying and cement production has taken its toll on the landscape and I am delighted that this scheme will remove what has become a major eyesore from one of our valued scenic routes and rejuvenate the area."

Last week, meanwhile, the Sunday Herald reported that ambitious plans for a mile-long dam across the River Solway, which flows along the border between Scotland and England, would include a new rail line.