THE Board of Tees Valley Tomorrow has announced that it is to concentrate solely on the business community from now on.

It will provide a new forum for businesses across the five unitary authority areas of Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland and Stockton.

Among its strategic priorities for the coming 12 months is ensuring that the business community has a major voice within the Tees Valley Partnership. The forum will make sure that the views of local businesses are given, with maximum effect to the many Government departments and quangos in the region, which include the Tees Valley Partnership, Government Office North-East, One North-East, Business Links and the Learning and Skills Council.

The organisation, which has served the Tees Valley area for 14 years, this week began advertising for a co-ordinator to lead its operations.

Until now it represented a combination of public, private and voluntary sectors. The decision to concentrate on business follows the formation of the Tees Valley Partnership.

It means some projects, such as Careers Choices and the Tees Valley Engineering Partnership, will now be delivered by other providers.

Tees Valley Tomorrow will, however, continue to operate its Professional Services Group, which has 80 members across the area, providing a range of "free" specialist professional advice for "not for profit" community projects in the region.

Alison Thain, chairman of Tees Valley Tomorrow, said it was the start of an exciting new era. "The Tees Valley is already a world-class region and we want to focus ourselves as the forum for all parts of the private sector throughout the area," she said.

John Irwin, vice-chairman, said: "This new Tees Valley Business Forum will allow the many broad and narrow business support organisations to come together to promote the private sector in the most effective way possible.

"Delivery of the main services will continue to be dealt with by the constituent members, which will include North-East Chamber of Commerce, Federation of Small Business, Teesside Chemical Initiative and others."