WEAR Valley and Sedgefield are sharing a £10.2m windfall to bring new businesses to disadvantaged communities.

Together with Derwentside and Easington, they will receive funding under round one of the Government's neighbourhood renewal programme Local Enterprise Growth Initiative.

The scheme aims to transform the economies of deprived areas by encouraging people to start up businesses, support growth and reduce the failure rate of locally-owned companies, and attract inward investment and franchising opportunities.

Long-term targets include developing enterprise education, making more space available for office and business units, tackling unemployment and tailoring skills to local needs.

The four councils worked together on the bid and their partnership is one of only ten to be supported in the first round of the initiative which covers the next three years.

Only local authorities in the most deprived areas were eligible to apply and the Government estimates that it could take a generation to change attitudes and generate an enterprise culture among young people.

Bob Fleming, Sedgefield Borough Council leader, said: "This is great news for everybody concerned.

"We were told by the award panel that our bid was the strongest of the 55 submitted and that they were impressed with the strong level of collaboration demonstrated by the four districts."

Bob Hope, Wear Valley's director of regeneration, predicted that the effect of the initiative would be dramatic.

He said: "This announcement is tremendous news to help boost existing efforts to promote greater levels of entrepreneurial activity and enterprise linked to local business growth, so as to create a real and long-lasting step change in the economic prospects of some of the most disadvantaged communities in the district.

"The bid award reflects a considerable effort by many agencies to produce a sound and credible strategy and demonstrates the potential for joint working between Durham's district councils.

"The challenge now is for all partners to work collectively to revitalise the economic fortunes of many communities and residents presently faced with economic exclusion."