THE deadline for bids to the latest round of Regional Growth Fund (RGF) went unnoticed last Wednesday. The Government's flagship job creation fund was overshadowed by George Osborne's budget announcement. 
Among the 27 bids submitted by companies in this region was an application for £4.65m from Durham Tees Valley Airport. The loss-making facility will use the cash to help build a road linking the north side of the site with land south of the passenger terminal.
Airport bosses are struggling to attract any new flights so the development of a freight, recycling and logistics hub could prove vital to its survival. 
However, they face competition from about 300 rival bidders across the country all hoping to secure a share of the £350m RGF pot. 
Two years ago Prime Minister David Cameron called Durham Tees Valley Airport a "vital" transport link. Let's hope the committee that announces the RGF winners in June shares his view.

Fifty years ago today the British Railways Board, chaired by Richard Beeching produced a report that transformed the rail network forever.
The Reshaping of British Railways saw about 2,300 stations and 5,000 miles of track axed, resulting in the loss of about 67,000 jobs.
It was hugely controversial at the time and debate still rages as to just what long-term effect Dr Beeching's recommendations had.
Today, unions will be taking part in a TUC Action for Rail campaign event by holding protests at 35 stations nationwide. Unions fear that cost- cutting could, over the next six years, risk 20,000 railway jobs; the closure of 675 ticket offices and a 50 per cent increase in the number of unstaffed stations.
TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said: "Rail firms seem intent on resurrecting the ghost of Dr Beeching, by embarking upon a new era of swingeing railway cuts.
"At a time when passengers are being forced to pay the most expensive train fares in Europe, they also face the prospect of unstaffed stations and guard-less trains. Instead of champing at the bit to save money, train operating companies should be looking to improve vital services at stations and on trains. There is no fairness in asking commuters to pay more for less."
The unions also fear that cuts in rail costs as outlined in a Whitehall-commissioned report by Sir Roy McNulty will hit rail safety.
Yesterday's decision to invite private bids for the East Coast line has also met a storm of protest from MPs and unions.
The route has been run successfully by the Department for Transport since National Express pulled out in November 2009, while GNER was forced to surrender the franchise a couple of years earlier.
Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland Labour MP, Tom Blenkinsop reckoned the restart of the franchising process was another sign that the government was failing to tackle the issues that matter.
"No-one - not a single constituent - has complained to me that they are worried that the line is still in public ownership, and that it should again be privatised.," he said.
The recent history of the East Coast line has exposed franchising as  another disaster for our railway network. It was supposed to deliver value for money and a consistently high service across the network. Instead, we have a merry-go-round of operators who can renege on their obligations and leave taxpayers to pick up the pieces.