I READ with interest The Northern Echo's front page article about the regional growth fund (Echo, Oct 31). Is it enough? Only time will tell.

Having been involved in the bids as a member of Tees Valley Unlimited, what we find is that the public and private sector work very hard to formulate very good bids but not all of them are successful.

We also find that the money is pathetically slow coming through. We are told that financial checks need to take place.

The Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, put a lot of faith in the regional growth fund format.

Mr Clegg promised "we will not hang the North-East out to dry".

Well, the reality is that, if we are not on the washing line yet, we are pretty close to been pegged out, especially with Redcar and Cleveland's unemployment up to 12.4 per cent - the worst in 20 years.

Notwithstanding these severe Coalition cuts to our public services we in Redcar and Cleveland will drive optimistically on with our £75m regeneration plans despite the doom and gloom of public service cuts amounting to multi-millions across the North-East.

Councillor George Dunning,

Leader Redcar and Cleveland Council.