MILLIONS of people in the North are missing out because the economic and social dominance of London and the South-East is holding other regions back, a two-year study has reported.

It says there must be greater investment, including a new or improved North-South rail line and a national strategy that encourages northern airports and sea ports like Teesport to expand.

The recommendations are set out in the report, Connecting England, which was commissioned by campaigning group the Town and Country Planning Association.

It says that while the capital's financial services sector goes from strength to strength and the South-East prospers, many other areas are suffering with poor transport links and low investment levels. It calls for joined-up Government action to ensure the whole country benefits from economic success.

And it says that even though some places such as Leeds and Manchester have been regenerated, the effects are not reaching far enough outside the cities.

It adds that the performance of the North-East remains a concern - and London's workforce contains three times the graduates of those in this region.

Yesterday, Joanne Fryett, Tees Valley policy manager for the North-East Chamber of Commerce, said she agreed with the findings in the report. "We now need to get central Government support to address the imbalance," she said.

The problem is well-documented and the Northern Way, a Government-backed plan, was launched to reduce the £30bn prosperity gap that exists between the North and the rest of the country.

Vince Taylor, director of implementation for the Northern Way, said: "This report is a serious attempt to highlight the challenges we face in promoting growth across the North.

"Our own research has confirmed that successful regions are well connected - both internally and internationally. To be frank, the North is not as well connected as it needs to be and it is the whole of the UK that is losing out as a result.

"The North possesses huge assets in its ports - including Teesport - which between them handle one-third of total UK cargoes. But these assets could be even better used if Government were to encourage further expansion and improve the infrastructure that serves them."

The report, which heard evidence from experts as well as looking at Government statistics and research, says one of the main challenges will be making sure benefits from the 2012 Olympics are felt across the country