PLANS for a £13m business park expansion have been approved, paving the way for hundreds of North-East jobs.

Durham County Council’s cabinet has backed funding proposals to extend NETPark, in Sedgefield.

Bosses say the move could deliver up to 800 new jobs across companies, while supporting a swathe of construction roles.

They added the site, which is home to 23 firms working across the science, engineering and technology sectors, is nearing capacity, with seven looking to expand and more keen to relocate to the hub.

A council meeting approved £12.9m funding for the expansion, with £1.2m coming from the authority’s capital programme and the remainder from self-financing borrowing.

Simon Henig, council leader, said NETPark was a great success story.

He said: “It’s important to continue to increase the number of job opportunities.

“NETPark is an integral site for the county and the whole region.”

Adrian White, the council’s head of transport and contract services, said the authority wanted to build an explorer village, with units let at market rate so it was largely self-financing.

He added the village would not be built until half of the units were pre-let.

The business park is already home to a number of innovative firms, including AIM-listed scanner maker Kromek, broadband technology company Filtronic and the Centre for Process Innovation.

Growing mask manufacturer Polyphotonix is also planning to open a purpose-built base at NETPark in early 2016, which bosses say will allow it to build on sleep masks that could transform treatment of eye disease in diabetes sufferers.

Speaking previously, Councillor Neil Foster, the council’s cabinet member for economic regeneration, hailed the hub’s regional importance.

He added: “We shouldn’t be afraid to be hard-nosed about it.

“NETPark was all about science and technology and set up for a specific purpose.

“It is a real success story, turning County Durham into a global hub for cutting edge science and technology companies.

“We should be proud of what has been achieved, but there is still more to do.”

Managed by Business Durham, the council’s business gateway, NETPark was launched as a joint venture between Durham County Council, Sedgefield Borough Council, One NorthEast, and the University of Durham, as part of a 20-year vision to create a “Dynamic Durham”.

Business Durham estimate the site, which celebrated its tenth anniversary this year, contributes £70m a year to the economy.