ONE of the main players in achieving the regeneration schemes will be a new urban regeneration company.

The concept is the brainchild of the Government and regional development agency One NorthEast, which put forward the Tees Valley as an ideal candidate for an urban regeneration company.

The company will provide a focus for improving the quality of town centres, urban areas, villages and open spaces throughout the Tees Valley, to create a better environment and quality of life for people to live and work.

Dr John Bridge, director of One NorthEast, said: "We need to build up a clear picture of what the Tees Valley should look like and what work people should be doing and we will incorporate this into new developments for housing, offices, industrial parks, and transport systems.

"Nobody expects all of this to come out of the public purse and that is why it has to be in partnership."

Dr Bridge also said he recognised that individual needs would have to be taken into account - to ensure that they could respond to a tiny village in east Cleveland as well as the Middlesbrough conurbation.

The project will cost £16m over the next ten years and will be headed by a nationally recognised finance executive, who has yet to be appointed.

Dr Bridge added: "It is a very, very big vision for the Tees Valley but it is one that I seriously believe in."

Alistair Arkley, chairman of the Tees Valley Partnership, said the Tees Valley was "ready, willing and able" to grasp the opportunities to create the company, which would bring new jobs, industries and investment into the area.