URGENT action is needed to address the chronic shortage of housing in the region, a leading regeneration figure has claimed.

Fabrick Housing Group chief executive Alison Thain spoke out after a sharp rise in the number of people on housing waiting lists was revealed.

The lists, provided by the regions choice based lettings teams, contain the names of 35,417 people across County Durham and the Tees Valley.

Ms Thain said: "The official figures show 17,917 people on waiting lists in the Tees Valley and a further 17,500 in County Durham.

In the Tees Valley, we know that this is an increase of 6,222 since December 2009.

"Many of those applicants will have applied on behalf of a couple or family, which means that these figures realistically represent a significant percentage of the population in these areas, and this figure is rising.

"This issue needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency, and the benefits of doing so are far reaching."

Fabrick Housing Group is the parent company of Tees Valley Housing and Erimus Housing, which manage a 15,000 homes and lead community regeneration projects from York to Tyneside.

Ms Thain called on politicians and house builders to look at new ways of working together to find and implement opportunities to meet housing demand in their areas.

She said: "New homes and revitalised communities not only inspire pride in the people who occupy them, but also help to ease the pressure on waiting lists.

"The economic argument for new homes is strong, not only for the residents they directly affect, but to local amenities which rely on the community to thrive.

As well as being chief executive of Fabrick, Ms Thain is a member of the board of regional development agency, One North East, where she is chair of the regeneration committee and design champion.

She is also one of the private sector partners of the local enterprise partnership leaders Tees Valley Unlimited, and was awarded the OBE in The Queen's Birthday Honours in June 2004.