TENS of thousands of jobs could be at risk in a dispute with the Highways Agency over the region's overcrowded roads, regeneration leaders have warned.

Regional development agency One NorthEast has entered the row between business leaders and the Highways Agency, which is accused of intervening to halt planning applications that could create thousands of jobs because of fears the region's trunk roads cannot take any more traffic.

Several sites have already been affected, including Corus, North Shore and the former Samsung site, all in Stockton, and Team Valley, Gateshead.

Yesterday, John Holmes, director of regeneration and tourism at One NorthEast, said the expansion of Durham Tees Valley Airport could also be jeopardised.

He said: "The future development of these priority sites is critical to the future regeneration of the North-East.

"Trying to put the frighteners on developers and local authorities is not a solution.

"Congestion-charging schemes could be long-term solutions, by which time valuable investment in business sites could be lost to other parts of the UK."

Yesterday, The Northern Echo reported that there were fears the Highways Agency could use its planning powers to halt £700m of future development and 9,000 jobs in the Tees Valley.

One NorthEast has met Highways Agency officials to express its concerns.

"The Highways Agency does not wish to hold up development, but we have a responsibility to make sure that proposed projects will not adversely affect safety or create additional congestion on our roads," said John Bagley, Highways Agency divisional director for Network Strategy North.

He added: "We are convinced that many more jobs could be at risk and more investment could be jeopardised if we give carte blanche to developers and, because of this, the road network in the North-East comes to a complete standstill."