SCHEMES with a value totalling more than £200m that will create thousands of jobs in the Tees Valley are about to get under way.

The transformation of the North-East's southern frontier will, it is hoped, act as a catalyst for regional growth.

More than 120 business leaders learned yesterday that years of planning were about to bear fruit in Darlington.

They were told that projects tackling business, retail and community needs across the town were entering a phase of "realisation".

Barry Keel, chief executive of Darlington Borough Council, said: "We are at a threshold here in Darlington.

"A lot of work has been done in putting the building blocks together over the last five or six years for things to happen here in Darlington. There are a lot of things about to come to fruition.

"We want to be a town with a future and a good place to do business."

The economic revival of the town is expected to gather pace rapidly during the next month as a series of crucial steps forward are taken.

During the next few weeks:

* Planning permission is expected to be given to develop Teesside International Airport. A further four destinations will be opened up by low-cost operator bmibaby;

* Developers will purchase the 16 acres of land on Haughton Road. Darlington College of Technology is to relocate there in a £30m move;

* Work on building 75,000sq ft of premier office space will begin at Morton Palms, the edge-of-town business park.

News of the developments comes as the first houses are built on the West Park site, and officials behind a £45m shopping centre prepare to finalise a deal with a flagship department store.

Business leaders at the Darlington Development Showcase conference, in Northgate House's Viewpoint suite, hailed the projects as crucial for the town's prosperity.

The Editor of The Northern Echo Peter Barron, spoke to the leaders of a number of companies who hold the progress of the town in their hands.

The questioning revealed the next few weeks would be vital. In that time, Teesside Airport is also expected to change its name to Durham-Tees Valley.

Hugh Lang, airport managing director, refused to confirm the name change, but said: "Teesside is not a strong enough brand to sell. It is about marketing the airport throughout Europe."

In the town centre, the Commercial Street shopping complex will soon be boosted by a deal with a large department store, rumoured in the past to be Debenhams.

Lindsey Robinson, of St Martins Property Developments, expressed his eagerness to push ahead with the project: "I would look to do it tomorrow," he said.

He said: "We are bringing other retailers who would not come to Darlington."

The Morton Palms business park, which officials hope will create 1,000 jobs, was also identified as the ideal site for a government department.

Elliott Ward, managing director of developers City and Northern Projects, said: "We are communicating with government bodies to try to achieve the important objective of bringing the jobs and prestige to the region."

The chief executive of Tees Valley Regeneration, Joe Docherty, revealed that in addition to the college's relocation, there was space for up to 400 houses, 150 to 250,000sq ft of retail space and a hotel.

Alan Clarke, chief executive of One NorthEast, said the town had a key part to play in revitalising the Tees Valley.

He said: "Darlington can attract investment that may not otherwise come to the Tees Valley at all."