THE Tees Valley was given a major growth boost today, as the Government backed plans for a new enterprise body.
The coalition gave the green-light to plans to form a single Tees Valley local enterprise partnership (LEP), covering Darlington, Middlesbrough, Stockton, Redcar and Cleveland and Hartlepool.
However, a separate united bid by the region's seven northern councils, covering County Durham, Tyne and Wear and Northumberland, has not been approved in the first wave of LEPs - the successors to regional development agencies such as One North East and Yorkshire Forward, which are set to close by March 2012.
The omission will be seen as a snub for the seven northern local authorities, which put aside their differences after originally submitting four separate bids.
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