WHEN he officially opened NetPark as a homegrown prime minister ten years ago, Tony Blair described it as tangible proof that those who drew up the vision to reshape County Durham’s future “meant business”.

The strategic vision document had been produced by Durham County Council – with the support of Sedgefield District Council, Durham University and regional development agency One North-East – and NetPark was a key component.

A decade on, NetPark – on the site of the former Winterton Hospital – is one of the fastest growing science parks in Britain and home to a cluster of pioneering high-tech companies.

Today’s edition of The Northern Echo highlights the exciting work of one of those companies, PolyPhotonix, which is about to launch a treatment which has the potential to save the National Health Service an estimated £1bn a year.

Every day, more than 700 people in the UK are diagnosed with type two diabetes and retinopathy is a common complication which can cause blindness.

Traditional treatments involve injections and laser surgery but PolyPhotonix sleep masks – developed thanks to £14m of taxpayers’ funding – are non-invasive, delivering the exact dose of light therapy while patients sleep.

We consider this to be a prime example of the value of investing public money in innovation.

It is a gamble, of course, and £14m is a lot of money to stake from the public purse.

But if it delivers £1bn of savings annually to the NHS, it will be viewed as a risk well worth taking.

In this prolonged age of austerity, we must go on being prepared to invest in the country’s brightest brains to come up with life-changing solutions. Here’s to the next ten years of innovation at NetPark.