And there was no sign of the controversy averting as the final design was revealed on Wednesday by artist Charles Jencks.

The world-renowned artist and designer developed initial designs for the world's largest sculpted human form as part of proposals put forward by the Banks Group for a surface mine at Shotton, west of Cramlington.

Four hundred metres long and up to 34 metres high, the Northumberlandia landform will form the centrepiece to a 29-hectare public park, and will be created from 1.5 million tonnes of soil and clay from the Shotton mine.

Mr Jencks told the News Post Leader: "They asked me to design a landmark and what people are most interested in is the human face and body, when you do psychological tests, and we have more brain cells that focus on those two things.

"Therefore if you are going to create a landmark, which is a very hard job to satisfy, what could be a better thing than this old notion that Mother Earth is the thing that we are most interested in and respond to."

The creation of Northumberlandia, which will take up to a year to complete, will be done using bulldozers and excavators, and will be undertaken by Banks employees.

The finalised design and construction plans have now been submitted to Northumberland County Council, with work due to begin in 2010.

Mark Dowdall, environment and community director at the Banks Group, said: "Our dual aims with Northumberlandia were to create an outstanding artistic landmark which stands alongside the region's other main tourist attractions and to provide high quality leisure facilities for the local community, and we believe this final design will succeed on both counts.

"Northumberlandia has already garnered interest and responses from people right around the world, and we're very excited to now be unveiling the project's final form.

"It will take around 20 minutes just to walk all the way around her, and the design has been enhanced with more paths to allow visitors to the park to easily ascend the figure.

"This artwork could not exist without the adjacent mining operation, and the sculpture will be part of the long-term local legacy that we always wanted the Shotton scheme to leave, alongside the eventual restoration of the mine itself.

"We believe Northumberlandia will complement and enhance north east England's existing cultural offering, and we are certain that it will be a valuable asset to the region, attracting visitors to Cramlington and the surrounding area."

The £2.5m Northumberlandia project is being funded by the Banks Group and the Blagdon Estate.