A superstore chain is planning a £200m expansion in the North-East, with potential to create up to 4,000 jobs.

Tesco has announced a five-year investment programme, which could see development at eight new sites in the region.

Four of the stores, at Chester-le-Street, Middlesbrough, Newton Aycliffe and Alnwick, are at various stages in the planning process, but the company revealed yesterday it soon plans to announce details of a further four sites.

Projections suggest local economies could benefit to the tune of £20m, in the form of salaries and local charges.

Tesco plans to adopt a "Regeneration Partnership" project approach to the proposed sites, to help local long-term unemployed find their way back into the jobs market.

It has enjoyed success with a regeneration scheme at Dragonville, on the outskirrts of Durham City, where half of the workforce taken on at the recently opened 68,000sq ft store live locally.

Similar projects surround Tesco developments at Seacroft, in Leeds, and at Springburn, Glasgow.

The benefits of such projects were highlighted at a conference, Skills for Real Futures 2001, staged by Tesco at New College Durham yesterday.

Speakers from project partners, including Tesco, New College, Durham County Council and the local Sherburn Road Regeneration Initiative, explored the gains brought to the community.

Case studies highlighted individuals who have benefited, including 54-year-old Ken Fenton.

He feared he would never work again after being made redundant from his boardroom job of 30 years with a clothing manufacturer in the region.

"It was the first time in my life I had found myself out of work and it felt really awful."

But after applying unsuccessfully for several jobs he was taken on by Tesco, where he has undergone retraining and now works on the store's deli counter at Dragonville