ALLOWING any more ports in the South of England to expand would put enormous strain on road and rail networks in the South-East, a leading planning body has warned.

In its state of the nation report, which highlights weaknesses in the UK road, rail and shipping networks, the Institute of Civil Engineers (ICE) says major port development should be in areas which have good road and rail links.

ICE's report is a sound endorsement of port expansion in the North - which could bring up to 7,000 jobs to the Tees.

In a stinging attack on further southern development, it says expansion in the South was purely down to commercial interests and not for the good of the UK.

The attack adds extra pressure on the Government not to allow any further expansion at southern ports - instead paving the way for northern port expansion, helping to bridge the multi-billion pound economic gap between North and South.

ICE's report calls on the Government to have an open debate on a national ports strategy, which would allow balanced port expansion across the country.

The owner of Teesport, PD Ports, has been lobbying the Government since March to allow a £300m investment in a deep-sea container terminal on the Tees, creating thousands of jobs and taking millions of lorry miles off the roads - cutting congestion all over the country.

But the Government has said it will not devise a national ports strategy until it has decided on planning applications for expansion at three southern ports.

ICE says in its report: "The UK needs more port capacity.

"Three deep-water container ports - at Felixstowe South, London Gateway and Bathside Bay at Harwich - are planned.

"Where they are based is purely down to the commercial reasons of independent private developers.

"Capacity will increase - the question is whether it will increase in the right places.

"Concentrated in the South-East, the new major ports will put enormous extra strain on the region's road and rail networks. We must see new ports as part of a national network, moving goods in and out of the country, and not purely as separate commercial entities without any effect beyond their immediate area."

PD Ports welcomed the report and said it added weight to its argument for expansion.

On Wednesday, PD Ports confirmed it had received a takeover approach, but declined to name its bidder.

Reports yesterday suggested the mystery bidder could be anyone from Peel Holdings, which owns Durham Tees Valley Airport, to Australian banking group Westpac, or even a French shipping line.

But The Northern Echo understands the suitor is Macquarie, an Australian investment bank which has infrastructure investments in the UK including the M6 toll road, South East Water, and Birmingham and Bristol Airports.