THE Government and the North of England's biggest cities have been accused of failing to acknowledge the existence of the Tees Valley.

A report published by Transport for the North, a partnership of the Government, Northern city regions and local enterprise partnerships, has been criticised for focusing efforts to drive economic growth on core cities, including Newcastle, Leeds and Manchester.

Stephen Catchpole, managing director of local enterprise partnership Tees Valley Unlimited (TVU), said the body was supportive of the strategy to boost economic development by improving transport infrastructure.

However, he added that the Chancellor's aim of creating a so-called Northern Powerhouse would only happen when all the significant economic assets of the North were supported.

He added: "Unfortunately, this document once again fails to recognise this approach, but rather concentrates on the core cities which, whilst being important, cannot on their own deliver the full economic potential of the whole of the North.

“As a result of this we, in the Tees Valley area, are unable to greet this report with the positive enthusiasm that we would like."

Mr Catchpole said the drive to "reward" a limited number of locations only, left the document open to attack.

“Examples of this include the failure to acknowledge either the existence or the economic assets of areas such as Tees Valley on the maps contained within the document.

“There is a consistent failure to give a balanced picture when proposing solutions to the issues. For example, the major road congestion in the North East is highlighted on page 23 as being on the A19 yet the solution on page 24 fails to mention that the A19 has been identified for expressway status."

Mr Catchpole said these issues could have been addressed had Transport for the North improved its governance, with the Tees Valley not represented on the board of new body.

In response, the Department for Transport said it was vital that Transport for the North spoke with one voice for the whole of the North.

A spokesman added: "Governance and membership of the group is a matter for the northern authorities, but it must be practical and inclusive?.

“We welcome Tees Valley’s willingness to work with us. It is crucial everyone works together to deliver a world-class, integrated transport network for the North. The Northern Transport Strategy makes clear that governance of the group should be reviewed later this year.”

The Northern Echo has launched the Right Lines campaign to push for improvements to the region's rail network.