THE North-East enjoyed the greatest level of economic growth outside London during One North East's tenure, documents released today show.

The legacy documents, released ahead of the regional development agency's closure at the end of the month, highlight that during its existence, increases in the region's employment, business numbers and GVA (gross value added) were among the highest in the country.

They state that before the agency was established in 1999 the regional economy was falling further behind every other English region but after it came into being, only London saw greater levels of economic growth.

In 2010, the then new coalition Government announced itwas axing the regional development agencies and replacing them with Local Enterprise Partnerships.

The agency's chairman Paul Callaghan, who will address the North-East Economic Forum's conference in Gateshead thismorning, said:

"I am less worried about people remembering the name than recognising what has been done.

"Whether people remember the agency itself isn't the relevant point, it is what we did that is the important thing.

"The impact on jobs, industries, skills, new businesses, the entrepreneurial culture that has built up in the region, people who see self-employment as a viable alternative, that has been part of our remit to encourage an entrepreneurial culture."

The agency's chief executive Alan Clarke said: "The staff we have had here are the brightest, smartest, hardestworking group of people I have evermanaged, in coming up with ideas and delivering them to a high standard for the benefit of the region."

From 1999, employment in the North-East rose at the third highest rate in the country, apart from London and Yorkshire, with 116,000 jobs created, a growth of 11.2 per cent, although this fell again after the start of the recession in 2008.

There was also the highest growth in the number of new businesses (18.7 per cent) and GVA per head of population outside London.

Tourism and inward investment was significantly boosted by the Passionate People Passionate Places campaign and the agency's work on turning the region into a hub for low-carbon vehicle development helped Nissan's Sunderland plant secure production of the Leaf electric car from next year.

The North-East Productivity Alliance project, which later became became MAS (Manufacturing Advisory Service) North-East, was conceived to help businesses in the region thrive by sharing best practice with firms such as Nissan.

More recent successes include the establishment of the country's first Jeremie fund, renamed as the £125m Finance for Business NorthEast super fund, whichmakes investments in high-growth businesses.

The One North East legacy documents can be found at northeastcouncils. gov. uk For a full interview with Mr Callaghan on the legacy of One North East, see next Tuesday's Business Echo.