THE Government yesterday announced a multi-million pound sweetener for the North-East as Corus finally confirmed the news that 1,100 jobs are to go in the region's steel industry.

The steel giant has now formally rejected proposals put together by the trades unions to save the 6,000 jobs under threat around the country. The first Teesside steelworkers will now be made redundant within the next month.

To soften the blow, the Government yesterday announced a multi-million pound package of aid for Tees Valley as a share of the £48m Government aid package spread around the country.

Yesterday, John Bridge, director of regional development agency One NorthEast, revealed that the money would bring in extra investment from other Government bodies and the private sector which would be worth £160m over the next four years. Some of the schemes planned include:

A £20m project for the development of a new business park and university campus on the north bank of the river Tees at Stockton;

Investment of up to £16m for the continued development of the Middlehaven site at Middlesbrough;

£6m for developments at Teesside Airport;

A partnership programme with Teesside University;

Feasibility studies into a new light transport system and Tees crossing;

Cash to develop research and development at the Wilton Centre;

Establishing an urban regeneration company;

Plans for a wind farm on current Corus land at Redcar.

The agency promised that former steel workers will be considered first for the new jobs.

Dr Bridge said: "We need to ensure that our jobs are valuable and steel workers know about them. We will be encouraging employers to give preference to steel workers.

"We are in the 21st Century and we want the Tees Valley - as a physical area and an area to work and live in - to be of 21st Century quality."

On Teesside, where the black cloud of redundancy has hung over the steel industry for months, the news was greeted as a thin silver lining.

It came on the same day as final confirmation that 650 jobs from Steel House, Redcar, 230 at Lackenby Coil Plate Mill, 140 at Stockton and Hartlepool and others elsewhere are to go.

Redcar MP Mo Mowlam said: "Our thoughts are with the hardworking men and women and their families who will be devastated by this news.

"While this is bad news for Teesside, I am pleased that the Government has put together a strong package to help the individuals affected, and to continue the regeneration of the area."

Coun David Walsh, leader of Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council said: "The aid package is welcome and will radically help with the improvement of Teesside's infrastructure. But it is sad that it has had to come as a response to mass sackings at Corus."

Meanwhile, Corus revealed steel workers will receive cash payments of £2,500 each as part of a revised version of Iserbs, a European scheme to benefit redundant steel workers.

Tony Poynter, chairman of the multi-union steel committee on Teesside, said negotiations with local managers on redundancy deals for workers had now started.

The unions are fighting for better packages for workers over the age of 50 in the hope that more volunteers would come forward to allow younger men to stay on.

They are also demanding staff be redeployed to other Corus plants.

The unions will ballot their workers on industrial action if the company fails to comply with their demands.

Read more about the campaign for steel jobs here.