INDUSTRY last night gave its backing to the £170m redevelopment of a derelict area of Darlington, calling it an ideal location for devolved Government jobs.

The North East Chamber of Commerce (NECC), which represents thousands of businesses in the region, said it was firmly behind efforts to bring public sector roles to the region as part of a Government strategy to move more than 20,000 civil service jobs out of Whitehall into the regions.

The Central Park development, in Darlington, is expected to bring up to 2,000 jobs to the region and regeneration agencies hope it could lure a government department from London.

But the NECC warned that the region should aspire to attract top, decision-making jobs and not be appeased by smaller, back office functions.

A number of potential sites have been identified across the region where the skills and infrastructure are available to give a more affordable service to the public.

NECC welcomed the suggestion that the development, unveiled by Tees Valley Regeneration this week, could attract civil service jobs in the wake of the Lyons report.

George Cowcher, chief executive of the NECC, said: "Darlington has been identified as the gateway to the North-East, and the Central Park development will act as a magnet to investment.

"The North-East is a perfect location for quality civil service jobs and Central Park is one of a number of sites across the region that would be suitable for such work.

"We have already seen with Tees Valley Regeneration's plans for Middlehaven that there are ambitious projects in place that are set to have a dramatic impact in the south of the region. We need to make sure that both proposals bring high-quality jobs that will act as a driver to the local economy."