What unites our businesses is a desire to see the North-East go from strength to strength, writes James Ramsbotham.

The North-East is a vital part of the UK economy and continues to have a consistently positive balance of trade; is the fastest growing region in the North and has a wealth of businesses that are world leaders in their field.

This all sounds very straightforward, but historically these strengths have not been recognised by decision-makers and investment in the region has suffered.

The Government’s approach to economic development has been characterised by a desire to push decision making away from Whitehall and into the regions.

This presents a significant opportunity for the North-East to shape its own economic future.

The onus is on all stakeholders in the regional economy to champion the North-East wherever possible.

We have a great place to do business, yet too few people outside of the region hear that message.

Our region is the engine room for the Northern Powerhouse.

We have some of the best parts of the economy here, underpinned by a robust manufacturing and engineering sector that drives our exports to such an extent that we boast the only positive balance of trade in the country.

A successful Northern Powerhouse starts by harnessing these regional strengths and building on them.

We must prove we are a joined-up region, that our private and public sectors work together and that we are ready to play our part in rebalancing the economy.

The devolution deal will see a total of £1.3bn funding channelled through to the whole of the North-East.

This investment and greater localised powers over employment and skills, transport, planning, business support and investment puts the destiny of the region’s businesses in its own hands.

We can act swiftly to remove barriers to growth as we are no longer hampered by a one size fits all economic strategy that falls short of the mark.

We demanded a regional voice, but now we can add our weight to a collective Northern roar and, as businesses, we must do everything in our power to grasp this opportunity we have waited so long for.

Achieve this and we will grasp the opportunity afforded us by devolution to lead the Northern Powerhouse and reap the benefits it will bring.

Fail and we face missing the opportunity of our generation.

We want to be proud that we grasped the opportunity of devolution with both hands and enabled the North-East to fulfil its potential.

James Ramsbotham is chief executive of the North East Chamber of Commerce